Wordle is so cool. You input a chunk of text or any URL, and out comes a fun, artistic, and interesting image, or WORD CLOUD. Here's what Wordle spewed out for my Kiducation blog on Yummy Mummy.
Neat, huh?
The larger words mean I have used them more frequently. I can also personalize my Wordle by playing with various colours, fonts, and formatting options. Ooooh, this is addictive! Anything I create goes into a gallery that I can print or share with friends.
Wordle is not only about creating pretty word clouds. Wordle is also a great tool for kids to develop writing skills, to stimulate critical thinking, and to spark creativity. Here are 5 ways to inspire kids' writing with Wordle:
Create a summer journal. Summer seems a lot more exciting when kids can see all their activities and plans in word art. Inspiration begins with a personalized cover page, like this one from my 9 year old:
Summarize a favourite story, song, or poem. Wordle often enables key words to emerge, which is essential when constructing summaries. My 9-year-old tried Cinderella:
Describe yourself or your friend while building vocabulary! Variety yields a fuller Wordle. This encourages kids to think beyond "nice" and "awesome." P.S. THIS MAKES A GREAT CARD FOR THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE! My 11 year old's Wordle on herself:
Stumped for creative writing ideas? Borrow someone's Wordle for themes. Build sentences from word clouds. Parents, please monitor for appropriate content. Here's one I love:
Kids can type in a text to edit their own writing. It's surprising how often "like" and "nice" emerge as the biggest words in the clouds. Time to spice up that story!
Wordle is addictive, because the possibilities are only limited by your imagination. I hope your kids have fun Wordling, and that they emerge inspired to write!
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