Word game

Use it for a key term whose spelling matters: a subject term, a new word in a foreign language, a name. Every guess has to fill the whole word, so students rebuild the spelling from the feedback rather than picking it from a list. It makes a short warm-up or a quick end to a lesson.

1. In a worksheet, use the + between two items and choose Word game.

2. Click the pencil and write the instruction at the top. It is the only hint students get, so say what kind of word it is, for example “Guess the six-letter physics term.”

3. Type the word or phrase under Answer. Spaces in a phrase are left out of the boxes students fill.

4. Set the Maximum number of attempts (1 to 15, 6 to begin with) or tick Unlimited attempts. Tick Case-sensitive answers only if capital letters matter.

5. Click the tick when you are done.

Students see a row of empty boxes, one for each letter. They type a guess that fills every box and click Submit. After each guess, letters in the right place turn green, letters that are in the answer but in the wrong place turn orange, and letters that are not in the answer turn grey.

They use the colours to shape the next guess until they see Correct! or run out of attempts. The question-mark button explains the colours.

The answer is correct if any guess matches the word within the allowed attempts, and incorrect otherwise. Open Results to see each student's guesses and how many of their attempts they used, with the correct answer shown alongside.

• Give the topic or the length in the instruction. Without a hint, the first guesses are pure chance.

• Six attempts suit a word of five to seven letters. Give more for longer words or younger students.

• With Unlimited attempts, students can use Clear guesses to start again with an empty board.

• Keep the game in Full view. Open view shows the answer.