This week I came across a new 'word cloud' site called Word Clouds for Kids. Sponsored by www.ABCya.com, this site allows students to input text to create a graphical representation from a block of text or other list of words. If words are entered more than once, they are given more prominence in a word cloud.
The idea of creating word clouds is not new. Websites like Wordle, Tagxedo, and WordItOut have been around for many years and have been used effectively by our students. What is different about Word Clouds is its easy to use interface. It is also Flash-based rather than Java-based. Word Clouds is recommended for grades 2-5 but can easily be used by younger students as well.
Here are some of the ways our students have been using word cloud sites this year:
Introduce themselves at the beginning of the year
Practice spelling words
Build story or character clouds based on a book
Create USA clouds
Reinforce vocabulary words
Review important terms and concepts when reviewing a chapter
Reflecting on a project or activity
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