Wordle has taken the internet by storm and captured the hearts of many students since its release in October 2021.
Wordle, an online game that consists of guessing a five-letter word in six attempts, has become popular among the students and educators at Bronx River.
While being a source of entertainment to some, others add that Wordle possesses beneficial learning properties, such as an expansion of vocabulary and a good stimulant for cognitive thinking.
Principal Gregory Fucheck shares his current statistics for Wordle. Out of 130 games, he has won around 119 (92 percent win rate). He always starts with the word “adieu” since he claims that the best strategy is to “start with as many vowels as possible.” From there, he says it’s straight thinking, and that there is no luck involved with finding the right word. One tip he shares is to use ‘x’ as a placeholder for unknown letters, since having a visual can help some people find the right word. Furthermore, he says that Wordle helps strengthen students’ vocabulary and encourages students to play. “It’s really fun; everyone should play.”
Priscilla Pol, a senior, says Wordle is a good way to strengthen vocabulary while also stimulating your brain. She plays Wordle everyday, and so far has a 10-day streak. In addition, her starting word is “traps.”
She looks forward to the challenge each day. “I love to get home and jump on the New York Times app for Wordle,” she said.
Senior Nada Isa plays wordle every other day and believes that wordle contributes to vocabulary growth while also teaching patience. Frankly, she thinks common sense is needed in order to play Wordle. Her starting word is “means” because she thinks the best strategy is to get vowels out of the way. She mentions that Wordle is frustrating because it involves the use of cognitive thinking. Even though the game can be puzzling, she said, “I love Wordle.”
Stephanie Decicco, the 10-grade global history teacher, logs onto Wordle once a week. Her starting word is “aisle” because it has three vowels and consists of “very common letters.” She adds that she used to play everyday but being a teacher comes with many responsibilities. She believes Wordle “really makes you think.” She adds that it “helps with neuroplasticity and grows connections between brain cells.”
