Wordle in the Classroom


Wordle is the new internet gaming craze as evidenced by my Facebook feed.  Engage your students by creating your own Wordle. 

How Do You Play Wordle?

If you aren’t familiar with how this internet craze is played, here are the simple rules.

  • A word is selected
  • The Player has six tries to guess the word
  • After each guess, the color of the tiles will change to show how close the guess was to the word. 

Ideas for use in the Classroom:

  • Use as a Warm-up activity or “ticket out the door” review
  • Post a Wordle each day with a new vocabulary word for students. Once they’ve solved the Wordle, have them look up the definition and then try to use it the rest of the class period.
  • During important events or holidays, create themed Wordles (like spring or March Madness or Pi Day).

 

Make your own Wordle using this link:

https://mywordle.strivemath.com/

 

Foreign language teachers can also use it to make a Wordle in different languages: (or they can use this version: https://wordle.danielfrg.com/)


What Are Some Other Wordle-Like Games? (from the TCEA blog)

If you’ve caught the Wordle bug and want to try some different variations (all free), check these out:

  • Hello Wordl– Hello Wordl is just like Wordle, except that you don’t have to wait a full day for a new word after guessing the last one. You can play with a new word immediately. But that’s not all. Hello Wordl also lets you change the number of letters to guess. So, you could also be guessing six-letter words or 10-letter words. Note that the number of chances, however, is still capped at six, so turning up the number of letters will also make the game exponentially harder. This might be a good challenge for your high school students.
  • Absurdle – This is known as the “adversarial Wordle” and it is just as difficult as it sounds. The game tweaks the rules as you get more guesses, and changes the word entirely based on the correct letters you guessed. However, as compensation, you will get an infinite number of chances to solve the puzzle. Drink lots of coffee before playing this one!
  • Ooodle – Fill the Grid – This is Wordle for math teacher and their students. (Thanks to Jennifer Hylemon of Grapevine-Colleyvine ISD for sharing this one with me.)
  • Sweardle – Definitely not for your students! You have six chances to guess the four-lettered word of the day, except it is not going to be regular words. Instead, you will be guessing swear words.
  • Online Lingo – Want a slightly easier version of Wordle that gives you helpful hints along the way? You’ll want to check outOnline Lingo. This web-only alternative lets you choose from either a five-letter or a six-letter puzzle, and gives you a bright and colorful alternative to play from. But don’t get totally comfortable—Online Lingo also balances out its hints by not graying out letters you’ve already used, so you’ll need to keep track of those as you play.
  • Times Table Sequencing Game – Thanks to Kathy Hilby from the School District of West Salem for this math “wordle” game. You try to guess a sequence of five numbers from a times table (2 times table through 10 times table).
  • Letterle – If the pressure of guessing the correct word in just six tries is too much, try playing Letterle instead. This semi-sarcastic Wordle alternative tones down the stress of making you find an entire word and pares things down to a single letter. It generously gives you a whopping 26 chances to guess the right letter, so it’s pretty hard to lose. That may make it perfect for very young students.
  • Primel – This is like Wordle except that, again, it’s for math. You try to guess a five-digit prime number. A hint from Tony Vincent: “Knowing divisibility rules can help you determine if a number is prime.”
  • Nerdle – Yet another math version. But this is one is a little more difficult in that you are guessing an equation.
  • Seven Wordles – If Wordle is too easy for you, give Seven Wordles a try. It asks you to solve seven Wordles in a row while a prominent timer clocks how long you’re taking.
  • Byrdle – If you’re a music teacher, this unique version is for you. It looks and plays exactly like traditional Wordle, except the word you need to guess is related to choral music. Definitely not for the faint of heart!
  • Wordle Together – Tired of playing the game by yourself? Then try this version where you can play against a random person or share a link with a friend and play against him.
  • There’s also a version of Wordle that can be played in Spanish.
  • If you are looking for a version of Wordle that can be played using a Google Slides template, Bill Peterson has you covered. He offers the daily word and a class score sheet. Make a copy to use this yourself.
  • Finally, if you are a computer science teacher, here’s a coding project for your students on how to create their own Wordle game.