MenteBrillante
What each sheet works on
- Complete the words: spelling and word-finding. Each word has a few letters missing, and knowing the theme (fish, the funfair, girls’ names of the past) gives you a helping hand.
- Words that mean the same: vocabulary. Matching sofa with settee or chat with natter is easy for some people and a real puzzle for others, and the pairs often start a conversation about the words different families used.
- What’s the word?: a short clue, a row of boxes and the first letter filled in. It is the gentle step before a crossword.
- Words beginning with…: verbal fluency. Two or three letters and a line to fill with as many words as come to mind. There is no right answer, only more or fewer words.
- Opposites: drawing a line between pairs such as loud and quiet or push and pull.
- Categories: write four vegetables, four seaside towns, four TV programmes… Free answers again, and plenty of memories along the way.
Tips for a group session
Words are sociable, so these sheets work best with a bit of noise. A good order is to warm up with categories or words beginning with…, which the whole group can do out loud, and then move on to a quieter sheet such as complete the words or what’s the word? for each person to do on their own.
- Every answer counts. On the free-answer sheets, write up everyone’s words on a board: the list grows and nobody is left out.
- Read the clue aloud. For what’s the word?, hearing the clue often helps more than reading it.
- A soft pencil and an eraser. Changing your mind is part of the game.
- Everyone on the same sheet. Every sheet has its own number, so the whole group can have exactly the same one and compare at the end.
An honest word
These sheets are for an enjoyable half hour, keeping a routine going and having a good natter, which is no small thing. But there is no solid evidence that word games prevent cognitive decline, and they do not replace an assessment or a plan from a professional. We go through the sources in what the science says about puzzles.
More large-print sheets: finish the proverb, large-print crosswords, word searches, memory activities and the large-print activity sheets.
