If you're ever looking for a fun little activity for your students that can help build classroom culture and encourage a bit of friendly competition, consider creating your own custom word games modeled after the ultra popular New York Times games! You could always use the real games, but by creating your own, you can pull in words from your own curriculum. It is incredibly easy to make each of these...check out our library themed Wordle, Connections, and Strands and feel free to share your results!
Wordle
In the custom Wordle builder, you simply type in the word (it can be as many letters as you want!) and then click the "Generate Link" button.
Then take the link and share it on Google Classroom or through email or whatever other method you'd like.
Connections
In the custom Connections builder, you have to do a little more thinking - you'll want to come up with 4 categories and 4 words/phrases (or even emojis) per category. Try to follow the Connections style of making each category increasingly more difficult!
When you finish, click the "Generate" button and it will open your puzzle in a new window. Grab the link from the URL bar at the top to share!
Strands
In the custom Strands builder, click the "Create" button at the top of the screen to start. Then you can add a title, a theme, a Spangram (the word/phrase that goes from one side of the puzzle to the other), and however many more words you need to fill the 48-letter puzzle. The warnings on the side will let you know how many letters you have remaining and if there are any issues with your puzzle.
When you finish, first click the green "Generate" button on the left side to generate the puzzle. Then click the "Check url" button at the bottom - you may need to change your title or theme or adjust the URL if someone has already used what is automatically created. If it is all set, you can click the new "Create Link" button that appears. That opens the puzzle - just grab the link from the URL bar at the top and share away!
When people complete your puzzles, they will have the option to share their results, just like the real NYT games! Have some fun with these and share them with your students or your family or your friends!
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