Summary
Discover the story behind Wordle's incredible success with this ESL class material. Students watch a video exploring how a simple word game, created as a gift, captured the world's attention without any marketing. The lesson delves into what makes a game go viral, focusing on its simple layout, lack of gimmicks, and the community built through social media sharing. This lesson is perfect for discussing modern digital culture and the psychology of gaming.
Activities
Start with a warm-up discussion about personal experiences with word games, mobile gaming addiction, and how digital content spreads.
Watch a short video about the creation and explosive growth of Wordle, answering comprehension questions to check understanding.
Analyze a sample Wordle grid to understand the game's mechanics, discussing which letters are correct, misplaced, or incorrect.
Practice using the present perfect to talk about recent experiences and events, focusing on how it relates to gaming and viral trends.
Learn and practice informal vocabulary and idioms related to gaming culture, such as being 'hooked' or 'jonesing for more'.
Engage in a final discussion on the psychology of viral games, debating statements about simplicity, limited play, and social sharing.
Vocabulary focus
This lesson introduces vocabulary related to viral trends and gaming. Students will learn words and phrases like word of mouth, gimmicks, to be hooked on something, jonesing for more, bragging, and explosive growth, using them in context to describe the Wordle phenomenon.
Grammar focus
The grammar focus is on the present perfect tense (have/has + past participle). Students will practice using this structure to talk about past experiences and recent events that have a connection to the present, such as 'Have you ever played Wordle?' or 'The game has become a global hit.'
