Snowman Game

Running it with a class

1. Put the game on the board. Choose Easy (10 wrong guesses) for younger classes, Medium or Hard for older ones.
2. Type this week's word or vocabulary term in the secret word box with the screen dimmed, or just play the random words. Add a clue such as "science unit" if you like.
3. Team 1 guesses first. A right letter scores a point for each time it appears and the same team goes again. A wrong letter passes the turn and melts a piece of the snowman.
4. When the word is solved or the snowman is gone, press Enter or "Next word". Reset the scores between lessons.

Why a snowman

Many teachers prefer not to put a hanging figure in front of a class, and some schools ask them not to. The snowman keeps everything that makes the game work, a visible countdown of wrong guesses, and drops the imagery. As the snowman loses its hat, scarf and buttons the sun grows, so the class can see the pressure building. Our guide to alternatives covers other versions such as spaceman and apple tree.

Making it a spelling lesson

Use words from one spelling pattern, then stop after each word and ask what the tricky part was. A run of ai words or silent letter words turns the game into a pattern hunt, and the printable for the same list makes a quiet follow-up task. Every printable on the site has a snowman version: tick "Snowman version" before you make a new sheet.

Scoring options

The built-in scoring is simple on purpose: a correct letter scores one point for each time it appears, and a miss passes the turn. Teachers adapt it in a few common ways. Some give a bonus point to the team that guesses the last letter. Some let a team that is sure of the word say it aloud instead of guessing a letter, winning three points if right and passing the turn if wrong. With younger classes, many skip points entirely and count words saved before the snowman melts.