Tech Tools for Teachers # 6 – Word Magnets

Each week Simon Collier and I collaborate on a weekly email newsletter to inform teachers of great online tools. Find out more here.

This week we review the site Word Magnets.

http://www.triptico.co.uk/resources/word_magnets/WordMagnets.html

Word magnets is a tool that allows you to paste in some text and then change the text into word tiles like fridge magnets that you can drag and rearrange.

There are background proformas you can use to arrange the magnets, like Venn diagrams, tables, A-Z, numeric lists etc.

We like Word Magnets because it:

• is free (Note: there is also a paid version of this tool available called Word Magnets 2.0. You are shown the ad for it when you first enter the Word Magnets site.)
• is suitable for all year levels
• has a range of uses
• is quick and easy to use (no preparation required)
• is great for thinking skills and all subject areas
• is a form of assessment

HOW TO…

1. Go to http://www.triptico.co.uk/resources/word_magnets/WordMagnets.html and press “next”
2. Type in the words you want to turn into magnets and press “next” (if you want to type in your words later, you can just leave the box blank and press “next”).
3. Choose the background you want to use and press “next.”
4. Drag your magnets to where you want them.
5. You can add magnets by typing them in up the top and then pressing the + sign.
6. You can change the colour of a magnet by clicking on the colour and then clicking on the magnet.
7. You can delete a magnet by clicking on “remove” and then clicking on the magnet you want to delete.
8. Use the up and down arrows to increase or decerease the size of the magnets.
9. You cannot save your Word Magnet but you can take a screen shot of it using the “Snipping Tool” in Windows 7 or by pressing “Prtsc” key and pasting in MS Paint in other versions of Window.

USES IN THE CLASSROOM

Kathleen has used Word Magnets with her Grade Twos as a sorting activity. The students simply brainstormed uses for the sea and then sorted these ideas into “fun” and “work”.

In the above activity the students came up with the words. Another activity Kathleen’s Grade Twos completed involved the teacher coming up with the words. For a food A-Z brainstorm, Kathleen created word magnets of foods with the first letter missing. The students had to drag them to the correct letter.

Word Magnets has many other uses in the classroom such as…

• type in a sentence or copy a paragraph of text and have the students arrange the words into the correct order
• type in a sentence and then have students create extra word magnents to extend the sentence
• colour code the nouns, adjectives, verbs etc in sentences
• sort ideas about any topics into a Venn diagram
• create a flow chart or mind map about a certain topic or idea
• create a family tree
• make all sorts of lists or comparisons!

Have a go at using Word Magnets with your class!  Let us know how you went by leaving a comment.