What’s in the series?
WHERE’S THE WORD? is a word search series of seven books: four books of Level 1, which would be suitable for children approximately aged 6 to 9, and Level 2, for children from about 10 to 13.
Every book contains 30 theme-based puzzles. Research shows, materials which are presented using themes enable children to develop a deeper knowledge of a few big ideas. For example, in this series, children delve into vocabulary associated with a barbecue, cold weather, taking a photo, small things, or rules.
As with all word search puzzles, words in the word list are hidden in the diagram of letters. Children find them by reading forward, backward, up, down and diagonally, and continually circling the words as they locate them.
The unique feature in this series is the Super Secretmessage at the end of every puzzle from a cartoon figure called Sophie. Children will enjoy finding the leftover letters in the puzzle to get to Sophie’s message. They will also warm up to Sophie’s good friend, Fritzy, a cat who accompanies the girl to beaches, parks, restaurants – everywhere, it seems, except school.
Sophie’s Super Secret message, although seemingly superfluous, offers a unique opportunity for language learners to read a sentence or phrase which is typically spoken by a young native-English speaker. To whom is Sophie directing her side comments, keen observations, witty wise cracks and quirky queries? To her cat, Fritzy, of course.
Why is an authentic text important?
An authentic text, such as the one found in Sophie’s speech bubble, ….
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encourages reading for pleasure because it is more likely to contain topics of interest to learners.
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could contain a text type that is not easily found in conventional teaching materials.
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is ideal for teaching grammar points such as tenses, articles, subject-verb agreement and commonly used idiomatic expressions such as ‘There’s ....’or ‘Isn’t …. ?’
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helps bring the words to life, making learning more meaningful.
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can offer cultural insights.
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is relevant to a child, and therefore makes learning easier.
LEVEL 1 Prim 2 - 4
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BOOK 1
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BOOK 2
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BOOK 3
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BOOK 4
LEVEL 2 Prim 4 +
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BOOK 1
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BOOK 2
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BOOK 3
About the Author
I have been teaching English to local students in Hong Kong for over 30 years. In my experiences of helping students improve their English standard, I have seen close up how frustrating the experience of learning a second language can be. There are ample books on the market. Most, however, drill and grill and bore students, leaving these once-eager language learners disinterested in English.
I began noticing very early on the students love puzzles, especially the odd word search puzzles she got from overseas shops. I also began to realize that if there was a leftover word, the students were even more motivated. Soon, I started making my own word search puzzles, these involving a cartoon character named Sophie actually chatting to her ever-loving companion, Fritzy (pictured with the author above).
I hope that students will be more motivated in learning English with these Where’s the Word?series of books. I believe that students will surely have more fun learning new words and actual, authentic phrases if they experience them in a context of the day-to-day life of a little girl and her cat.
About the Artist
Cherie loves painting, drawing and sewing. She studied Art in Canada where I received a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art. When Cherie arrived in Hong Kong, she got a job as an English teacher. After buckling down with more studying, Cherie received a Masters degree in Education.
Cherie feels she is really lucky that she has plenty of opportunity to combine both her interests of art and teaching. She has also illustrated lots of storybooks which can be seen for free at teachakidinafrica.com.
Cherie took great pleasure in illustrating the pictures for Where’s the Wordbecause she absolutely LOVES drawing cats! Also, she has known the real-life Sophie since Sophie was born, so of course she enjoyed bringing Sophie to life, and her brother, Tom, as well.
