Solve Word Scrambles

Many people solve word scrambles or word jumbles quickly and easily. Others struggle with the letters, wrestling them into submission or finally admitting defeat after staring at the miscreant scramble for hours. What is the secret to solving word scrambles?

Scientists know that the human mind seeks meaning and order among random patterns. The trick that experienced puzzle solvers use is to impose order on the chaos of letters. If you’re stumped by a word scramble, try first to arrange the letters in alphabetical order. Using a dictionary, see if any words beginning with the first letter include letter patterns found among the jumbled letters. Often, an immediate word or several potential words will leap out at you after taking this first step.

Teachers find that word scrambles can be used with students of all ages and abilities. Elementary school students enjoy simple word scrambles. Many teachers focus on sight words or tricky spelling words to reinforce the week’s language arts lesson. Middle school students often enjoy more complicated word scrambles, often with words grouped according to a theme such as holidays, famous historical events, or science terms.

High school foreign language teachers find that solving word scrambles focuses students at the beginning of class. Post a word scramble on the board. As students take their seats, have them proceed immediately to solve the word scramble. Make the scramble of the day a contest, awarding points to the winner. Keep track of who has the most points each week. Give the weekly winner a small reward. Students quickly learn that they should take their seats quietly, and they’ll enjoy focusing on the word scramble at the start of the lesson.

Are you ready to solve word scrambles? Visit the following Web sites for great word scrambles to solve, as well as resources for teachers to make word scrambles:

• 3D2F includes numerous shareware and free trial word scramble software games to download and play. Word Jubbler, for example, appeals to crossword puzzle enthusiasts while Scramble transforms a word or phrase into a coded message that you need to decode. There are many to choose from, so if you get bored playing one you can always try another. Do run your virus protection software after downloading files, and scan downloaded files before installing on your computer.
• Word Scramble Solver also includes several games to download onto your computer and play offline. One program for teachers and parents, called Activity Maker, creates customized vocabulary worksheets and puzzles. Create puzzles from weekly word lists or from lists of words students struggle to learn.
• Teachnology provides a free word scramble creator. Solve word scrambles with your students, or encourage them to play word scrambles during free time for extra practice.
• The Teacher’s Corner also provides resources for teachers to make their own word scramble worksheets.
• First grade teacher Mrs. McGowan from Spring Lake, New Jersey, created an interactive Web site that has word scramble games on the computer suitable for very young students. Creative word scrambles include games to help students practice spelling and sentence structure.
• Kids Reads provides a series of word scrambles to solve based on popular children’s books. Encourage students to read, and then see how well they can solve word scrambles based on the books. The site also includes word scrambles focused on popular movie and televisions shows, such as Star Wars and Scooby-Doo.
• The ESL Scrambled Word Quiz allows students learning the English language to practice both English and their knowledge of American customs through this fun Thanksgiving word scramble.
• The Internet Picture Dictionary provides many excellent word scrambles for adults learning English. Each scramble includes a picture of the object to make it easier for adults to guess the word, yet still practice their spelling skills.
• Kidz Scrambler Magnet Online creates word scrambles based on the concept of the magnetic poetry toolkits often found in stationery and bookstores. Magnetic poetry kits contain magnetic tiles of letters, which people arrange on a metal surface to form poetry. It’s a fun way to play with words on a whim. On this site, students click and drag scrambled tiles to form recognizable text to solve the puzzle.
• Solve each word scramble on the Ice Cube Word Scrambler to make lemonade to fill your lemonade stand. Even though it sounds simple and inane, it quickly becomes addictive.