My first introduction to Wordle was this past school year where students that I was working with after school had Wordle as an option for homework in practicing their spelling words. Needless to say I was in awe and thrilled to be able ot learn from my students. My immediate thought once I was able to spend time playing with Wordle was to make personalized gift art. After investigating some of the sites that Sandy provided links for in our assignment, I began to think about Wordle in a broader sense. I realized that Wordle could be used for any subject or topic where a visual representation of an idea/concept might impact or make an impression on the individual who is on the receiving end of the visual (whether it be the individual who creates the Wordle or the inidvidual who the Wordle was created for). Some of the ideas I really gravitated to were:

• Character Education (i.e. personal self esteem poster where everyone contributes something positive to say about a classmate and you are really able to see what positive traits are most noticed about an individual)
• Language Arts - word walls, list important ideas in a passage, summarizing skills, pre-reading predictions, character trait analysis, vocabulary
• Content Areas: compare and contrast, defining characteristics, vocabulary, summarizing skills, polls

I would also use a Wordle for problem solving and critical thinking. Inidivduals could create Wordles and the group would then have to decide why a particular Wordle was created and/or what purpose would it serve. You could also ask those who are studying the Wordle "How would you change the Wordle and why?" Depending on the group, I might provide varying criteria for each person to consider when creating their wordle.