Word search

Word search is a classic puzzle for the interactive whiteboard and tablets: drag your finger across the letters and, if they spell a word on the list, it is coloured in and crossed off. The English topic uses simple English words; the other topics use Spanish words. In teams, each team has its own grid with the same words and both play at once: the first to find them all wins.

Years 1 and 2Years 3 and 4Years 5 and 6Language and literacy
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Word search on an interactive whiteboard with several words already found, coloured in and crossed off the list

What children practise

Levels and settings

Y1 and Y2

8 x 8 grid with 6 words.

Y3 and Y4

10 x 10 grid with 8 words.

Y5 and Y6

12 x 12 grid with 10 words.

Easy

Words only run across and down.

Medium

Diagonals are added.

Hard

All eight directions, backwards too, with more words and a bigger grid.

How to play it in class

  1. Open the word search on the interactive whiteboard or a tablet and choose the year: the grid size adjusts itself.
  2. Pick the topic and difficulty, or set the grid, number of words and directions yourself.
  3. In teams, each team searches its own half of the board: drag from the first letter of a word to the last.
  4. A correct word is coloured in, crossed off your list and scores a point. The first team to find every word wins.

Ways to play

In teams, at the same time

The screen splits in two and each team plays on its own half at the same time.

For one player

One child plays on the whole screen at their own pace: on the whiteboard, a computer or a tablet.

Frequently asked questions

Which language are the words in?

The English topic has English words. Animals, food, school and the body use Spanish words, which suits a Spanish lesson or a bilingual school.

Can words run backwards?

Only on hard. On easy they run across and down, and medium adds diagonals.

Can we play in turns?

Yes. Under More options, choose a single grid with 30 or 60 second turns: when the timer runs out, the other team plays, and each word takes the colour of the team that found it.

Is it free?

You can play 5 free games without signing up. After that, a one-off payment of €9.99 unlocks all 78 games for ever, on all your devices. There is no subscription.

Do I need to install anything?

No. It opens in the browser of the interactive whiteboard, panel, computer, tablet or iPad. Once loaded, it also works offline.

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