Newsletter Feb. ’25 Wordshark Online

Focus on Australia!

In the Alpha to Omega course; countries ending -a

While most schools are approaching the Spring half-term, our Wordshark users in Australia are beginning their new academic year! 3 facts? 

• Temperatures in Australia at this time of year can reach 37°C  
• Many schools have compulsory team sports events on Saturdays
• In year 12, children study for a government-endorsed certificate, recognised by Australian universities and others

Searching the Word Bank 

Track down suitable lists in Wordshark for your spelling lessons, class work or homework! 

• Type your spelling pattern into Search in the main ‘Games & Lists’ screen 
•  The course summaries too can help to identify what is on offer 
• You can also, of course, add your own word lists to set as work 

Something new!

Good news – looking up progress in Set Work, (under the Set Work tab), has been made clearer. You and your students can now see how far they have reached. 

This is what students see: 

Teachers’ tip 

Set work is marked completed with 75% accuracy in any of the 3 spelling ‘check’ games.  Encourage your students to select ’Replay’, trying for better scores and faster times in the games, especially the spelling test games (Maze Spell Check, Moving Spell Check, and Spell Check). 

Did you know?

• Sharks do sleep! Some sharks are inactive for short periods with a method of taking in oxygen. Find out more… 

• Other than primates, Koalas are the only other animal that has fingerprints

• What is the maximum number of words permitted in an Own list in Wordshark?  10, to prevent games getting too long!