Word Search Widget

Use word search when learners need vocabulary review, spelling practice, or content recognition — anything where finding the word in a grid of letters reinforces what it looks like. Common uses: weekly spelling lists, science vocabulary, foreign language words, character names from a reading.

Select the word search on the canvas and click the floating ⚙ Configure button to open its setup dialog — the word list, points, placement rules, scoring, and a live preview of the published grid all live there. See Configuring a Word Search for the full walkthrough.

How learners interact

Learners can find words three ways:

• Drag from the first letter to the last letter.
• Two-tap: click the first letter, then the last letter.
• Keyboard: arrow keys move a focus ring across cells; Enter sets the start, then Enter again on the end letter.

Once a word is found, its cells are highlighted with a colored line and the word is struck through in the word list. The widget tracks how many words remain and announces each find for screen readers.

Settings to know

• Words — the list of words to hide. Each word has a points value. The widget's total score is the sum of the points of every word that makes it into the puzzle (see Word formatting for the words that don't).
• Allow diagonals — when on, words can run diagonally. Turn off for younger learners to keep the puzzle easier.
• Allow backwards — when on, words may be hidden right-to-left, bottom-to-top, or along reversed diagonals. Default is off.
• Show word list — when on, learners see the list of words to find in a fixed column beside the grid, with found words struck through. Turn off for a harder "find the hidden words" challenge. The studio canvas shows that column too, so the grid you size is the grid learners get.
• Allow reveal — when on, a "Reveal answers" button appears under the grid. Clicking it shows all unfound words and ends the activity. The canvas reserves the same row, so the button never lands outside the puzzle in the published lesson.
• Extra rows and columns — adds padding around the auto-sized grid to make the puzzle less dense.
• Scoring mode — _Per word_ awards each found word's points immediately; _Full completion_ awards the total only when every word is found.

Grading setup

Word search supports grading. The grading controls are in the Scoring section of the ⚙ Configure dialog.

• Scoring (the On/Off switch at the top of the section) turns grading on or off for the activity.
• Points are configured per word in the word list, and the widget total is the sum. There's no separate Points field in the Scoring section for a word search.
• Scoring mode — _Per word_ (recommended) credits each word as it's found, so partial completion still earns partial credit. _Full completion_ credits the full total only when every word is found; a single missed word zeros out the activity.
• Group lets you include the activity in a custom grading group.
• While Scoring is on, the activity counts toward both the scene score and the lesson score.

How the grid is generated

The grid is built automatically from your word list. The widget picks the smallest square grid that can fit every word in the allowed directions, then fills the empty cells with random letters that look like the words (so the puzzle reads naturally).

The grid is deterministic: with the same words and toggles, you'll always get the same puzzle. Editing the word list, toggling diagonals, or adding extra rows regenerates the puzzle.

If your words can't fit (e.g. 20 long words with no diagonals), the editor will tell you. Try adding extra rows/cols, removing a word, or turning on diagonals.

Word formatting

• Words are converted to uppercase letters only before placement: café becomes CAFE, don't becomes DONT, Hello World becomes HELLOWORLD.
• Numbers and punctuation are stripped.
• Words shorter than 2 letters after normalization are left out of the puzzle. Learners don't see them in the word list, they don't count toward "all words found", and their points don't count toward the total.
• Exact duplicates (after normalization, so cat and CAT) become one word in the puzzle, and their points are added together onto the first one. Learners see it once in the word list.
• The Configure dialog lists any word that was left out or merged, and the lesson's validation panel flags it as a warning before you publish.
• Non-Latin alphabets (e.g. 日本語, العربية) are not supported in v1.

Wholly-overlapping words

If your list includes both CAT and CATS, the widget treats them as independent finds. Finding CATS does not auto-credit CAT — the learner must find each one separately. Heads up: this can be surprising; consider whether you really want both on the list.

Reveal in full-completion mode

If you turn on _Allow reveal_ and set scoring mode to _Full completion_, clicking Reveal does not auto-credit the unfound words. The learner's score remains whatever they had earned (which is 0 in full-completion mode unless they'd already found every word).

This is deliberate: reveal is a learning aid, not a way to claim credit without finishing.

Behaviors: react to found words

In the Behaviors section of the widget's properties you can react to the search as it happens:

• On Word Found fires each time the learner finds a new word — for example, add a point to a variable or play a small effect.
• On All Words Found fires exactly once when the whole puzzle is solved — a natural place to celebrate or send the learner to the next scene with a navigate action.

Both events work with actions and conditions like any other behavior — see Events, Actions, and Conditions. A navigation added here also appears as a path in the Lesson Graph.

Accessibility

• Every cell is keyboard-reachable; the active cell has a visible focus ring.
• Each find is announced to screen readers ("Found CAT. 4 of 5 words remain.").
• Cell labels include the row and column position.
• Letters and the cell background meet WCAG 2.1 AA contrast.

The grid always fits inside the widget: on a smaller widget the cells, and the letters in them, shrink. For large grids, make the widget big enough that each cell stays easy to tap, around 44 pixels square for young learners on tablets.

Useful setting combinations

• Diagonals off + backwards off + show word list on:

Best for early elementary or first exposure to the vocabulary.

• Diagonals on + backwards on + extra rows/cols 4–6:

Best as a low-stakes warm-up or end-of-week review.

• Show word list off + allow reveal on:

Best for a "find the hidden words" puzzle where learners can ask for help if stuck.

• Word search + Score widget:

Pair with the score widget so learners see their progress in real time.

• Word search + Timer widget:

Add a timer for a speed-round variation.

A classroom example

Spelling list practice (grade 3):

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1. Enter this week's 10 spelling words, each worth 1 point. 2. Turn off Allow diagonals and Allow backwards to keep it accessible. 3. Turn on Show word list so learners can see what they're searching for. 4. Leave Scoring mode at _Per word_ so every found word counts. 5. The widget total will be 10 points; finding all 10 contributes the full amount to the scene score.

For a step-by-step build, see the tutorial Review vocabulary with a word search: six ocean-animal words, a running "Animals found" count, and a scene that finishes by itself when the last word is found.

Caveats

• If you edit the word list or toggles while a learner is mid-puzzle in a published lesson, the puzzle regenerates on the next scene navigation. Try to settle the configuration before publishing.
• Like any client-side puzzle, a determined learner could find the answers by inspecting the page. For high-stakes assessment, observe directly or use a different activity.