This activity was submitted by Carole Pankow, South St. Paul Junior High, Minn., who uses it in her remedial reading class to gain students’ attention and hook them into the content for the day.
- Select a vocabulary word that is pertinent to the content of the lesson.
- Write a “mystery” word on the white board prior to class and cover each letter with an index card or post-it note.
- Have students guess letters and reveal those letters by removing the cards one at a time like you would for Wheel of Fortune.
- Students then will try to guess the mystery word with the fewest number of letters revealed.
- After students have guessed the “mystery” word, you then introduce the related activity (synonyms, antonyms, writing prompt, etc.)
Students are much more engaged and seem to remember the vocabulary word better when it has been presented this way!
