Why Word Searches Are Great
Word Search Makes You Smarter
by Michael
Like any other part of your body, your brain needs exercise. When you exercise you perform an action over and over, such as throwing a ball or riding a bike. Your body learns those movements and you get better at them. You have fun, unless you fall. But you learn from that too. In order for the brain to improve in certain skills, it too needs exercise.
A word search exercises the brain and helps you get better at certain activities.
- It helps you become a better speller. It is like playing hide and seek with your spelling words. In order to find your words you need to know how to spell them. The process of searching and building your words one letter at a time reinforces the spelling of the words.
- It helps you recognize patterns faster. When you see a pattern of 2 or 3 letters you immediately match that to one of your words. As you do that over and over your brain gets better at locating patterns.
- You get faster at recognizing words. After doing a word search you can recognize your words faster when you are reading.
- You get more focused. Doing a word search requires focus on the letters, and their combinations in order to evaluate each word.
- Your brain becomes more flexible. Instead of just left and right, you are able to recognize your words, in 8 different directions increasing your brain power
The skills that you are building in one area of the brain can help you with other activities as well. However a word search still takes a lot of time to complete. When you are older and already read well it becomes less fun and more tedious.