There’s been a sea of gray, yellow, and green boxes flooding Twitter timelines over the past few weeks. Three tries, four tries, five tries—it’s a symbol of status and their performance in the daily round of Wordle, a word-guessing game sweeping the nation.
To play the game, users begin by entering any five-letter word. The program will then identify whether the word you’ve entered shares any letters with the correct answer. A green highlight indicates that the letter is in the word and in the correct spot inside the word. A yellow highlight indicates that the letter is in the word but is in a different spot inside the word. You have six tries to figure out the daily answer.
This digital game has quickly become popular, especially in the classroom. Digital games have been increasingly used as instructional tools, especially during the pandemic, with more than 60 percent of teachers stating that games make learning more interesting for students, according to a January 2021 EdWeek Research Center survey.
Educators specializing in language and reading saw the value of using it as an instructional tool to illustrate effective phonics and spelling. Even when joking about the connection between digital games and lessons.
Teachers React
Integrating a word game into a reading lesson makes sense, but some teachers aptly made the connection that the game could also be used to demonstrate another subject: math.
Math teachers took to Twitter to showcase how Wordle could also be a powerful tool for teaching logic and other math concepts.
Teachers who were quick to turn the game into a teachable moment were just as fast to share their learnings (and templates) with other educators looking to do the same.
Outside of aiding in lesson planning, Wordle provided teachers with a trendy way of visualizing how they feel about the profession and their fellow teachers.
