I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

Note: That's a long title, but it sounds catchy for some reason; is it that way for you too? Okay, that last bit was over-the-top corny, but you can’t expect quality when my jokes are done pro-Bono.

Okay, back to the matter at hand: Word Searches in the Classroom.

In seventh grade, it seemed like every other day my social studies teacher would give us a Word Search for the section of the book that we had just gone over (naturally, days that did not include a Word Search featured a Crossword Puzzle, which was slightly better). I hated Word Searches then and my disdain for these “learning activities” has not faded the least as the years have passed.

I'm not saying that Word Searches have no place; my grandma quite likes hers on the end table next to her quilting needles. I would, however, assert they have no place in education—certainly not in middle or high school settings. Using these activities as assessments, especially if they're graded, is a mild form of educational malpractice.

This is certainly an area where I feel I'm in the minority, word searches are commonplace in nearly all subjects in the K-12 setting. Out of curiosity, I have asked numerous teachers (many of whom I have great respect and admiration for) why they give these activities out and what they hope to learn about their students from these activities. The question is usually met with a look of befuddlement followed by a shoulder shrug. Occasionally, I will receive an answer about word recognition, which I will concede is something that a Word Search can show but would also point out that it doesn't show any depth of knowledge or skill.

This takes me back to my seventh-grade self, I could have told you all about Hammurabi's Code. I could've compared it to other codified law systems in ancient civilizations. If you'd have asked, I probably could've created a modern version of a code built on entrenched class structures and retribution. But I would fail those assignments because I couldn't find the blasted term in the cloud of other letters. How much sense does that make? 

I'm not saying that teachers who use these activities are terrible at their jobs; they're just doing the same things they did as students because the result worked for them (they all graduated college). But to move forward, we need to question some of these practices. I suggest we start by leaving word searches where they belong, at grandma's house.