Wordle - A Vocabulary Game

Hello there!

I was cruising the internet the other day when suddenly I found myself in Twitter surrounded by these green, gray and yellow square grids. So of course, being the noisy person I am, followed the hashtags to the answer of this new trend that was stalking my timeline. 

The answer to this incognita is called Wordle and is a word game first created by the New York Times which consists in a new word each 12 hours. 

How do you play it? And most importantly why do I think it helps in education? 

The game is simple in itself. A hidden 5 letter word for which you have 6 tries to find.

Once you type the first word the letters will change colour according to the degree of accuracy you've placed the letters with. If you were correct the letters will turn green, if the word has the letter in it but in the wrong place they will turn yellow, and if it's not in the word it will turn gray in both the game and your keyboard.

And so you continue trying until you hit the word of the day... or lose after six tries. You can share the results, which is from where the mysterious colour grids came from, and 12 hours later you can try and challenge yourself with a different word.

We can find Wordle in several languages, I personally play it in both English and Spanish. I think it's very good because it mixes very known and simple words with others that I've had to go and google afterwards. I've lost in at least two ocassions and my students in a few more.

Also quick story time: my highschool group (C1) lost in a very simple word yesterday while my 6th graders nailed it. 

Quick story, my highschoolers lost in a very simple word yesterday while my 6th grades nailed it. Sometimes simple thinking is key with this game. 

So consider using this game as a tool for learning new vocabulary, a reward after a good class' work or simply as a daily challenge for your students. I assure you it would bring out the competitive side of them.

And well, that's today's teacher tip. I hope you make use of it.

See you next time, Teacher Clyo