This highly-interactive activity supports critical thinking and problem solving while also building students’ comprehension and spelling skills. Students start by choosing puzzles based on four popular U.S. children’s books. They are then prompted to use clues to identify words from a list of scrambled letters. The final clue is based on an event or theme from their chosen book, which supports story comprehension and makes the activity meaningful and fun. Audible prompts and hints guide students to solve the sometimes challenging word puzzles. After completing a section, students may choose to begin another series of puzzles based on the same book or may choose a different book. This engaging interactive tool would work well with pairs or small groups, either in one session or across multiple sessions.

Visit this interactive tool at: http://readwritethink.org/materials/wordwizard/.

ReadWriteThink Lessons That Use This Tool

A Journal for Corduroy: Responding to Literature (K-2)
This lesson leads first-grade students to reflect on and respond to literature through journal writing. Students read books in the Corduroy series and interact with a stuffed bear to personalize their experiences. They also record their own adventures with Corduroy, share their stories with the class, and create a class book using the computer.

Phonic Generalizations in Chrysanthemum (K-2)
Using the book Chrysanthemum, this lesson teaches first- and second-graders the phonic generalizations for ow, aw, and ew. Based on the strategy "Letterbox Lessons" by Murray and Lesniak, students manipulate letters to construct words. Students then apply the strategy by spelling the words, reading the words in selected nursery rhymes, and playing an online, interactive game.

Vocabulary With Franklin: Helping Students Become Word Wizards (K-2)
In this lesson, first- and second-grade students learn new vocabulary words, their definitions, and how to spell them. Starting with a read-aloud of Franklin in the Dark by Paulette Bourgeois, students then participate in a wide range of activities from using an online Word Wizard game to performing a script.

Word Wizards: Students Making Words (K-2)
This lesson is based on an instructional strategy developed by Patricia Cunningham called "Making Words." Students in first and second grade manipulate a set of letters to construct words dictated by the teacher. Students then apply the strategy using an online, interactive game.