Wordle

In late 2021, Wordle began lighting up social media and took off in popularity. The rules are simple: A user has six tries to guess the daily five-letter word. To begin, enter a word. The program will reveal whether the word you entered has any correct letters. A green letter is in the correct spot, a yellow letter is in an incorrect spot, and a gray letter is not in the word. At the end of the game, the player has the opportunity to share their performance to social media platforms, without spoilers. Younger children watched their parents play and wanted to try from their own devices.  

Wordle has many possibilities as a bell ringer or warm-up activity to kick off a lesson. Since it's web-based, it can be accessed from a computer or tablet. Teachers can either have students solve from their own device or project it and solve it as a shared activity. Occasionally the word of the day may be unfamiliar to younger students, which could be frustrating but also provides an opportunity to build vocabulary. While it seems a natural fit to use the game in a reading, writing, or ELA lesson, Wordle lends itself just as well to a math lesson. That's because solving Wordle uses a bit of logic, strategy, process of elimination, and even probability. Once students are familiar with the game, an engaging extension activity would be to create custom puzzles with one of several copycat programs. Teachers could create puzzles that hone in on skills they want students to practice. Alternatively, students can be challenged to create their own as well.