How to Create Word Searches for Primary Students

Word searches are a great activity for students ages 5 and up. It is a great way to reinforce any vocabulary list as well as a great spelling activity. I have been using word searches in my kindergarten class for over 10 years now and students seem to really enjoy them. Word searches are a fantastic independent activity for students and they're quick and easy to create.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Select your vocabulary words.
2. Decide how many rows and columns you want. I usually make them square (20 rows by 20 columns).
3. Create the word search using the Courier font, this is one of the only fonts that lines up vertically.
4. Manually type in the words line by line. There are a few websites that do this for you like PuzzleMaker.com (see resources below), but they also make the words go diagonally or backwards which is the last thing you want young children exposed to. Create the word search using the same number of letters on each line to ensure the letters line up vertically.
5. Add a picture or two to make it fun for the kids.
6. When my kids do a word search, I have them do it in colored pencils. If they find the word "dog" in the word search, they have to cross it out down below in the same color they circled it. Each time they find a word they have to change colors.

Tips & Warnings

• Check it for mistakes by having another adult do it before you give it out to the kids.