Word Wheels – A Teaching Strategy

Who said teaching vocabulary had to be boring? This post contains four word wheel activities for students to enjoy while learning more about words.

Word Wheel #1

Set a two minute timer. Have students write down as many real words as they can using only the letters in the wheel. All words must include the center letter of the wheel. Words can be any length. Letters may be repeated or doubled. Encourage students to create long words.

bat

tasteless

Word Wheel #2

The wheel contains an eight-letter word. Fill in the missing letter to complete the word. The word may go clockwise or counter-clockwise.

Word Wheel #3

Students are only given the center letter to begin the puzzle. All the spoke words must begin with the letter in the center of the wheel and must be exactly five letters in length. All words going around the outside of the wheel must begin and end with the letters at the end of the spokes. They must also be exactly five letters in length. These words circle in a clockwise direction. This example is a possible solution to the word puzzle..

Word Wheel #4

This word wheel is a great way to teach vocabulary. Students must write about seven different properties of the word.

Handout

Click the image above to download the handout containing the word wheel activities. I hope your students have fun with these.