Independent quick activities that are simple to run and fun to complete are great options when you are waiting to start class or want to give some outside class work that reinforces learning.  Today, M. Priya, ME, LCCE, shares a great Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators idea for customized Word Searches that work equally well in person or in a virtual classroom.  You can find all the Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators ideas here for free.  - Sharon Muza, Connecting the Dots Community Manager.

Introduction

This fun Word Search activity is one of my favourites.  The purpose of this activity is to help families to get to know each other and learn some new words related to pregnancy, labor and birth and beyond.  Word searches are irresistibly fun. You can find them almost anywhere, for any theme, at any challenge level. But did you know that they have numerous intellectual benefits? Like any puzzle, they are a great way to keep your brain active and develop problem-solving skills. That’s why we arrange word search activities as ice breakers for pregnant mothers and families in our classes.

Materials

In person

• Copies of any of the Word Search puzzles shared below, one for each person or family.
• Your own version that you have created.
• Pens, markers or pencils

Virtual

A link to the pdf or graphic of your Word Search that I have created (shared below) or one that you made specific for your classes.

When to conduct this activity

I often conduct this activity as an ice breaker to help warm up online learning spaces and orient students to the online environment.  It helps to create a relaxed environment where families share ideas and participate more fully in the class.  In person, as families arrive they can grab this fun quick activity and work on it as they wait for class to start.  Alternatively, they can receive the handout on the way out of class to do between sessions.

How to conduct this activity

This is such a simple exercise.  Choose a Word Search that compliments the content you are covering that class.  Most people are familiar with the concept of how to do a Word Search, so just letting them know the theme and how many words they are looking for will be enough to get them going.  For virtual teaching, encourage every family to make their own copy and either print or use online highlighting tools to mark the words.

I create and take printouts of the puzzle for my in-person classes. I distribute it to families in my class. I tell them to mark the words related to a particular theme. The theme may be a previous topic or today’s topic.  For example, I tell them to mark six hidden words related to hormones, or labor positions or comfort measures during labor or fetal positions, etc.

As a follow up, you can show them the answer key so they can confirm they found the proper words, and even include definitions or where they can get more information on the terms.

After this activity, families are able to discuss the words they identified and how much they understand from the previous class.  

How long to allow for this activity

This is a simple and sweet activity that takes five minutes and can be done independently or as a group.  I use it frequently at the beginning of a series class. I really enjoy how this activity effectively meets many of my learning goals. 

Modifying this activity

You can make your own customized Word Search puzzles. I usually hide 6 words in the grid. There are many puzzle generation online tools available.  Two of my favorites are

• Word Search Puzzle Generator (superteacherworksheets.com)
• Create Your Own Word Search Puzzle | Discovery Education Puzzlemaker

Feel free to use the puzzles I have shared here or make your own.

What families say about this activity

Families enjoy the lighthearted and quick brain puzzle and appreciate the reinforcement of vocabulary words and concepts from the class.  There may even be some competition to see who can complete the puzzle first.

Conclusion

This fun activity is a great icebreaker for a new class. Not every activity you do in class requires a lot of material or time. This is a simple and awesome activity that I happily start my class with frequently and I think you will enjoy using it too. Would you try something like this in your class? Do you do something similar already?  How might you modify this for the classes you teach?  Share your thoughts in the comments section below. I would love to hear them!

About M. Priya

I am M.Priya, M.E. LCCE from Tamilnadu, India. I am a mother of two beautiful children. My first pregnancy experience was not good and ended up in an unexpected cesarean birth. I faced breastfeeding issues, and postpartum depression. That made me realize that people need support, guidance, birth education, evidence-based education, and confidence to advocate for themselves. I am passionate about supporting families as they journey through pregnancy to parenthood. I was a lecturer turned Lamaze childbirth educator. In 2019, I completed my training from Dr Vijaya Krishnan, who is a pioneer of the Midwifery Model of Care in India, Healthy-Mother at Hyderabad. I teach Lamaze classes for pregnant mothers in the primary health care center, NGO, and government hospitals in Aranthangi (a small town in Tamil nadu, India). I am the first and only birth educator in my community. With more responsibility, I founded “Iraivi Mother’s Wellness Care”. You can find me on my Instagram page @iraivi.mothers.wellness.care

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