Word Magnets - Great Tool for Inclusive Classrooms

Jennifer Dorman (@cliotech) twittered about a resource she discovered today, which sounded intriguing. After spending a few minutes exploring it, I realized I had to share this cool, free online, interactive tool with my readers. Word Magnets is simple to use and perfect for Touch Monitors or Interactive WhiteBoards. How does it work and what does it do?
Word Magnets will take a piece of text and break it into individual magnets which can be moved around the screen, resized, removed, colour coded, grouped, sorted and so on. New magnets can also be added at any point.
You've probably used the low tech version - magnetic letters or words on your refrigerator. Try the new tech version with your students. There's an auditory cue every time you move, add or change the color of a word. Some students will benefit from the multisensory cues Word Magnet provides.

Here are some ideas to get you started in your inclusive elementary classroom.

1. Let your students take daily attendance














2. Categorize or sort - the example below shows sorting by parts of speech














3. Use as a Sequencing Activity














4. Use the Venn diagram background to help students understand relationships
5. Use the separated circles background to help students understand differences.
6. Explore the background options to take the tool to the next level.

I can't wait to recommend Word Magnets and see what ideas other teachers think of. One request for the Word Magnets creators - Please add the ability to save your work. Otherwise, I give this tool two thumbs up!

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