Address: http://wordle.net
This site is a free, easy-to-use Web 2.0 tool that creates word clouds by pasting or entering text into the application. The word clouds show which words appear more frequently in the original text. Fonts, layouts and colors can be manipulated for different effects.
21st Century Skills
This Web 2.0 teaching and learning tool can develop several important 21st Century learning skills. It can spark students’ creativity when they share original writing compositions and research assignments. Critical thinking skills are employed when using Wordle to analyze main ideas, make predictions, and critique/revise student essays. This site is a great one to add to your teacher resources toolbox!
NEW! In the School Library
For all of you school librarians - Last year I used a word cloud during our back-to-school library orientation for the 7th and 8th graders. Most of these students attended our school previously so the word cloud helped initiate discussions to recall the library's resources and procedures.
Though Wordle is used by students, teachers and many others to create a word cloud since its web version stopped working properly people are looking for similar tools. You can also go for the alternatives to try new patterns, font styles and customizing options. 'Go Wordle' is a beautiful word choose highscores game.The game is 100% free and does not contain any In-App purchases.We have an option to pick.
Word clouds can also be used to create signage for Dewey categories and different genres in your fiction collection.
In the Classroom
Teachers can use this Web 2.0 tool as a pre-learning activity to introduce a new unit or story to students. They can type in keywords from an upcoming unit or book and let students brainstorm what it is about.
Here is a word cloud used to introduce the book Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan to middle school students. The first chapter of the book, located on the author’s website, was copied and pasted into the application and then tweaked using the fonts, layouts and color tools.
- This next word cloud was used to activate prior knowledge and to introduce a unit on “Healthy Eating and Nutrition” to elementary students.
- It's easy to make a word cloud interactive using ThingLink, another great Web 2.0 tool. To learn how to use ThingLink in your classroom, click HERE.
- Word clouds can also be used as a self-assessment tool. Students can type in words they know about a topic before a unit of study is introduced. At the end of the unit they can repeat the activity and compare the two as a means of self-assessment.
- Two features in this Web 2.0 tool – limiting the number of words in a cloud and alphabetizing words - can benefit Special Education and ESL students.
More ideas for using word clouds -
- Use responses from a student poll or survey toidentify and discuss popular responses.
- Copy and paste the contents of an onlinediscussion to determine main ideas.
- Compare news articles on the same topic fromdifferent sources by creating two or more word clouds.
- As an introduction to a new unit, create a wordcloud using key words and learning expectations for students to guess what willbe studied.
- Use sight words to create a word cloud posterand have students play “I Spy.”
- Use words from several different word familiesto create a word cloud poster. Students can then sort words according to theword families.
- Have students copy and paste a writingassignment into a word cloud and then look for overused words.
- Have students create two word clouds each withcharacteristics of two literary genres to compare, such as science fiction andfantasy, history and historical fiction.
Interactive Whiteboards -
- Project a word cloud of homophones or synonyms and antonyms on the board and match words using the pen tool.
- As an introduction to a lesson, project a word cloud on the board for students to view, discuss, and to determine its theme/main topic. Let students use the 'reveal' tool to see the correct answer.
Adding a word cloud to a picture -
- While learning about local geographic features in their community, students in Northeast Louisiana viewed pictures of the Ouachita River and brainstormed descriptive words and phrases for a word cloud. The word cloud was then added to a picture of the river.
A simple way to add a word cloud to a picture –
1. Locate a picture that will illustrate the word cloud and save it.
2. Create a word cloud.
3. Use the Custom Palette tool under Colors to create a background and font colors that coordinate with the picture.
4. Open the word cloud in a new window.
5. Open it to full screen and press the Print Screen key.
6. Open MS PowerPoint.
7. Insert the picture and enlarge it to fill the slide.
8. Right click on the picture and paste the word cloud on the picture.
9. Right click on the cloud to use the Format Picture tool. Crop the top and bottom of the cloud. Adjust the size of the cloud to reduce it. Position it on the picture.
10. Save the slide as usual OR save it in the jpeg format to use on a class web page or other site.
- More classroom ideas - 38 Interesting Ways to Use Word Clouds
TIPS:
- You can make phrases in Wordle by using the ~ to group words, such as rainy~day.
- You can’t save a cloud as an image. You must save the code and insert it into a web site.
- You can “Print Screen” and paste it into a document, then crop it.
- Click Randomize if you do not like the layout of your word cloud.
- Make specific words larger by simply repeating them.
Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This Web 2.0 teaching tool supports the CCSS Language standards which focus on understanding words and phrases and their relationships and acquiring new vocabulary across the curriculum. Rote learning of word lists seldom works. Students need to engage with new vocabulary and have fun exploring words. Word lists can be boring, but word clouds can be very engaging.
Numerous strands of the CCSS Reading standards are supported when using word clouds to determine main ideas in text, summarizing text, explaining relationships between different concepts/people/events, analyzing multiple accounts of the same event or topic
Tutorial:
Here is a basic video to get you started – Introduction to Using Wordle
Safety Concerns for Educators and Students:
This site, like most Web 2.0 tools, is available to users throughout the world. The owner and creator does not censor the word clouds created by program. In the past, inappropriate content would sometimes be displayed on the site’s home/front page. In August 2009 this problem was addressed when the creator, Jonathan Feinberg, began vetting clouds used on the home/front page to ensure that inappropriate content would not appear on this page.. He also suggested that school networking administrators block the URLs for the gallery page and two other pages. The following information is taken from the site's FAQ –
The site's front page will never feature images or links that are inappropriate for classroom use. Therefore, it's possible to configure an institution's 'site-blocking' software to keep Wordle safe for classroom use.
Simply have your networking administrator block the following base URLs: http://www.wordle.net/gallery http://www.wordle.net/next http://www.wordle.net/random
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Have you ever played with Wordle? It is a fun way to create an interesting graphic or word cloud using text of your choice.
I didn’t have much experience with Wordle until recently, and now my girls and I are hooked! We love to start the school year with self-portraits, interviews, and fresh photographs. For a change, I thought the girls might enjoy using Wordle to create All About Me word clouds.
On the Wordle Create page, you will find a text box for typing or pasting text. The more times you type a word, the bigger it will be on your Wordle. The girls did their names six times, and all other words only one or two times.
They included physical characteristics, birthdays, adjectives that describe their personalities, things they like to do, favorite colors & foods, places they like to go, etc.
Once you are finished with your list, click go and your Wordle will be generated. From here you can do lots of customizing, from fonts to layout to colors. I suggest playing around with it first yourself, then showing your kiddos how to use it. For the littles, take dictation and let them play around with your help.
Word Art
My girls (ages 8 and 9) were able to figure out the simple interface very quickly, and had a great time customizing their very own Wordles.
We printed the final Wordles on cardstock and plan to frame them with self-portrait drawings. What a fun memento of my girls at the beginning of 3rd and 4th grades!
More fun Wordle ideas:
- Create a card with words and wishes for the recipient
- Make a new Wordle on each birthday
- Try making a Wordle about a famous historical figure or favorite book character
My 9-year-old is planning to make one with the titles of all her favorite books. I’m keeping this idea in my back pocket for Father’s Day, too!
Happy creating!