Word Grid Activity for Beginning Literacy and Beginning Level ELL Classes

Purpose:  To review vocabulary and phonics in a fun and interactive way.

Preparation Time:  5-10 minutes

Materials Needed:  Word grid that is 4 x 4 with numbers and words in each box (as shown in the picture) that can be projected online or in-person, or shown on a piece of paper to a small group of learners or to one learner in a one-on-one context. Words should be familiar to students, so they can be taken from current unit vocabulary or a recently read text.

Preparation:  Choose 16 vocabulary words from the target text. Create a word grid using a Microsoft Word or Google Docs, or draw one with pencil, paper and a ruler. Number the boxes 1 - 16 and enter one word from your list in each box.

Procedure:  The grid can be used in many ways. Here are several ideas.

Before doing any of the following activities, familiarize learners with the grid: teacher or volunteer says each word, having students repeat.  

1. Volunteer or teacher says a word, and asks a learner to identify the number of the box in which the word is placed. For example, the volunteer says “driving,” and the learner says “six.”
2. Volunteer or teacher says a number and asks a learner to say the corresponding word. For example, the volunteer says “two” and the learner says “blue.” This can be repeated as a round robin where the first learner calls on the next learner and prompts them with a number. 
3. “I Spy”: Volunteer describes a word based on spelling, sound or meaning and the student says or writes the word. For example, “Which word rhymes with new?” “Which words are colors?” “Which word has a silent “gh?” 
4. Expansion Activity:  Without looking at the grid, students fill in missing letters of target words. Teacher writes words on board (or on a separate Powerpoint or Google slide for online classes) leaving out a couple letters (example:  n i _ _ t). Students fill in missing letters verbally or in written form.   
5. Expansion Activity:  Toward the end of the week, after doing the above exercises repeatedly, give a spelling dictation using the vocabulary words. For lower-level classes, this can be a single word dictation. For higher level classes, target words can be embedded in sentences (ex:  It was a dark night.)  
6. Expansion Activity:  Teacher chooses one word and asks all students to write a sentence using that word. For in-person classes, students can write their sentences on the board and they can be reviewed/edited as a group. For online classes, students can write their sentence in the chat, or read their sentence aloud as the teacher writes it on a slide (verbatim.) Students can then read all the sentences and suggest corrections/edits. This activity allows students to see a vocabulary word used in many ways, aiding in comprehension.  

Thank you to retired beginning English teacher, Sheri Lear, for this Tutor Tip!

For questions or comments about this tutor tip, please contact Literacy Minnesota’s Tutor Training Coordinator, Meghan Boyle, at mboyle@literacymn.org.