We’re going on a word hunt

We’re going on a word hunt, (we’re going on a word hunt,)

We’re going to find some big ones, (we’re going to find some big ones,)

I’m not afraid! (I’m not afraid!)

This song puts me in mind of summer nights around the campfire after the final s’more has been eaten, when it’s time for scary stories and songs. But we have a twist on it for you today, instead of a bear hunt, we’re going on a word hunt!! We hope this exercise gets kids reading, and gets them to have fun while they’re at it.

So, gather all your reluctant readers and let’s get hunting!

How to design a word hunt:

Step 1. Write a series of words onto sticky notes (1 word per note!)

Step 2. Hide them around the hunting grounds (backyard, house, classroom etc.)

Step 3. Create a list of the words for the kids, so they know what they need to find. Depending on the design of your word hunt, the kids could be divided into teams and looking for different words, or seeing who can find (and read!) the most words.

 

When you’re on the word hunt:

Step 1. Have the kids read out the words they’re looking for.

Step 2. 3, 2, 1, word hunt!

Step 3. When all the words have been found, have the kids read out the words again. To create more of a challenge, have them create sentences using the words they’ve found.

 

Later, when the word hunt exhaustion sets in, we have some great books to get your kids sitting and reading.

Catch your environmental activists with Justine McKeen, Thermostat Chat. Justine is on another mission, this time to rid homes and schools of energy vampires. Justine and her friends, with the help of Principal Proctor, are working to reduce the energy consumption of electronics that suck power from the school when they aren’t being used. By cutting down on the miscellaneous electrical load of these electronics, the team is also saving money, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fighting global warming. Too bad they didn’t warn Grandpa Blatzo before they started slaying the vampires! Justine McKeen, Thermostat Chat is part of the Justine McKeen series featuring the Queen of Green.

Give animal lovers Bagels Come Home and let them discover eight-year-old Josh and his family when they adopt an energetic puppy with a big personality and a talent for escaping, everyone is sure that obedience school will teach him good manners. But Bagels turns out to be a bigger handful than anyone predicted. He gets into the laundry, the groceries and the neighbor’s koi pond. He even gets expelled from obedience school. Josh and his little sister, Becky, are worried that if Bagels doesn’t shape up, their parents will send him back to the shelter. Can Bagels redeem himself before it’s too late?

Leggings Revolt is perfect for your passionate activist with Eric and his buddies have left behind their all boys school to attend high school with girls. Eager to find his place in this exciting new world, Eric joins the student life committee, unaware that he is expected to enforce the school’s strict dress code. The dress code is particularly harsh on the girls he is keen to get to know. Eric finds this awkward, but it’s nothing compared to the position he finds himself in when the whole school revolts.

Or On Cue for your performing arts enthusiast. Randi wants to be an actress and is excited about practicing her craft in drama class. So she is devastated to learn the program has been cut. When her friends put together a successful proposal to have drama class taught as an extracurricular activity, Randi is thrilled. Until the reality sinks in. Extracurriculars are scheduled after school, and after school Randi is expected to take care of her special-needs brother. Can Randi find a way to make it all work out?

It’s time to get reading, Word Hunters!