Letter Link

In this activity, students search the game board for vocabulary words. The game is challenging and good for giving students a new way to think, as finding the words is not so straightforward, but takes creative, flexible thinking.

Preparation

Prepare grids ahead of time or be sure students have paper to make their own.

Procedure

1. Make a 3x3, 4x4, or 5x5 square of letters on the board (be sure to include a good mix of vowels and consonants). 2. Students work in teams to see how many words they can form with the letters in the square in a limited amount of time (three to five minutes, depending on level). 3. The letters must be touching each other to form a word.

When to Use It

• To practice spelling and finding vocabulary words • To change up the energy level in class

Level

Skills

Practice

Materials

Grids premade or paper for students to make them

Variations Preparation Time

10 minutes — to create the board 1. To make it easier, tell students they can use a letter more than 15 minutes if students make board once. To make it more difficult, tell them they can use each letter only once. Activity Time 2. Add a time limit to make it more competitive. 10–15+ minutes 3. Walkable Words. Instead of using the grid, create a graphic like the one below, with letters in squares and lines connecting the squares like a spider web. Words can only be created with the letters that are connected by the lines, and the same letter cannot be used more than once in a row (e.g., penne), although they can be used more than once with another letter in between. Additional options with Walkable Words: Use the same squares and rules, but put words in the squares to create sentences or images to create stories.

Grid Web

S R A T L K I N H E Q C W O M D U Y B F A S P R Z T O

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Contributors: Julie Holaway, Assessment Specialist and ESL Instructor, has taught in various learning institutions around the world and was an English Language Fellow in Brazil from 2009 to 2011; Cristiane Tinoco, English teacher, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; with additional ideas from Maria Snarski, Regional English Language Officer, David Malatesta, Spanish/French/ESL teacher, Niles West High School, Illinois, USA