I love playing with words, and I super-LOVE finding new ways to do this. Tagxedo is a free way to play with words and create art at the same time–one more way to engage your writer!
Simon and I worked through a few of these last week, and I am going to share his cat project and walk you through a few simple steps on how to use Tagxedo. I had to download silverlight (a free plug-in) to get Tagxedo working.
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Tagxedo is not available for Mac but there are a few alternatives that runs on macOS with similar functionality. The most popular Mac alternative is Kumo, which is both free and Open Source.If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked 10 alternatives to Tagxedo and three of them are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Tagxedo Tagxedo is a free, web-based word cloud creator, similar to Wordle. But with Tagxedo, you can place your word cloud in a shape! CLICK HEREto see a sample. One of the most interesting ways to make word clouds is Tagxedo. It is a great application that is free and comes with lots of great features. For example, you can create beautiful word clouds in real time, you can find interesting fonts, themes, orientation, shapes, and colors and even use som custom fonts. Get a free domain name, real NON-outsourced 24/7 support, and superior speed. Web hosting provider php hosting cheap web hosting, Web hosting, domain names, front page hosting, email hosting. We offer affordable hosting, web hosting provider business web hosting, ecommerce hosting, unix hosting. Phone support available, Free Domain, and Free Setup.
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First, choose a shape. Tagxedo has gobs of shape choices. Simon chose cat because he adores his pet!
Hint: If you want to upload your own shape, try using silhouettes.
Next, go to LOAD and click to add words to the large box.
Simon and I took turns adding all the words we could think of that relate to his cat: curious, adventurous, naughty, purring, scared, hunter, hissing, fangs, wild, cute, cuddly, vicious, claws, playful, cat, kitten, pet, crazy, whiskers, bouncing, black, sweet, furry, climbing, balancing, meowing.
You can change the font styles, if you want. You can also choose your color scheme by clicking on theme. Simon wanted his to be black and green!
Simon loved his final product and published it by making it the background on his desktop computer. Another positive writing experience!
Ways to Play with Tagxedo
If you want to use Tagxedo in your homeschool, here are some fun ways to get started! I'm sure your children will have some ideas of their own, too.
Adjective Practice
Choose an object and ONLY use adjectives to describe the object. This is a fun way to introduce or review a part of speech.
Synonyms
Choose a word and generate gobs of synonyms for that word. This may be a good time to teach your student how to use a thesaurus.
This sample turns the word 'walk' into a big fat ball of synonyms!
Alternative Book Report
Book reports aren't really our thing, but this would be a wonderful way for your student to rememeber and record last book she read. Words to add: names of characters, conflicts, theme of the book, important events, setting, etc.
Your student could also choose one character in the story and make a word cloud about that character. A student could even make a small book with one page for each character in a story.
Download game dragon mania android. Movie Review
After viewing a movie or a documentary, create a Tagxedo word cloud that represents the movie.
Poetry Memorization
If your children memorize poems, they may enjoy turning the poems they are memorizing into word clouds. Here is an example for Simon's current poem, 'How Doth the Little Crocodile?'
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P.S. This also helps them memorize the poem since they have to type the words in!
Bible Memory Verse
Use the same idea posted above for poetry memorization.
Self Portrait
Ask your student to think of the following: gifts, talents, personality traits, interests, favorite things. Type the words into Tagxedo and make a self portrait word cloud.
Document a Field Trip
After you go on a field trip, have your student add words to the generator that summarize the field trip. Where was it? What did he learn? Who went with you?
Geography Project
Use an outline of a continent, country, or state and fill it in with words that describe the place. Here is an example for Indiana. This would be fantastic for a geography fair project!
Thank You Card
Use Tagxedo to create an artistic image for the front of a thank you note. Continue the writing lesson by writing a few sentences inside the card.
Summarize a Historical Person, Event, or Time Period
Studying Ancient Egypt? Add words like pyramid, mummy, hieroglyphs, and Tutankhamen to your word cloud. Add as many as you can think of. Be sure to choose or upload a shape that suits your project.
Guessing Game
Is your student studying an animal? Historical time period? Ask him to choose a generic shape and to add words about his topic of study without adding the actual topic. When you look at your student's finished word cloud, can you guess what he was writing about?
Related Words
This is what Simon and I did with cat. Choose a topic and generate as many words as possible for that subject. The words can be verbs, nouns, adjectives–it doesn't matter as long as they are related to the main subject. Simon likes this option and chose 'water' as a subject. His finished product is below.
Tagxedo Download
Make a Book
Combine pages of states, countries, or animals and create a book.
What ways will you play with Tagxedo?
Hint: If you want to upload your own shape, try using silhouettes.
Next, go to LOAD and click to add words to the large box.
Simon and I took turns adding all the words we could think of that relate to his cat: curious, adventurous, naughty, purring, scared, hunter, hissing, fangs, wild, cute, cuddly, vicious, claws, playful, cat, kitten, pet, crazy, whiskers, bouncing, black, sweet, furry, climbing, balancing, meowing.
You can change the font styles, if you want. You can also choose your color scheme by clicking on theme. Simon wanted his to be black and green!
Simon loved his final product and published it by making it the background on his desktop computer. Another positive writing experience!
Ways to Play with Tagxedo
If you want to use Tagxedo in your homeschool, here are some fun ways to get started! I'm sure your children will have some ideas of their own, too.
Adjective Practice
Choose an object and ONLY use adjectives to describe the object. This is a fun way to introduce or review a part of speech.
Synonyms
Choose a word and generate gobs of synonyms for that word. This may be a good time to teach your student how to use a thesaurus.
This sample turns the word 'walk' into a big fat ball of synonyms!
Alternative Book Report
Book reports aren't really our thing, but this would be a wonderful way for your student to rememeber and record last book she read. Words to add: names of characters, conflicts, theme of the book, important events, setting, etc.
Your student could also choose one character in the story and make a word cloud about that character. A student could even make a small book with one page for each character in a story.
Download game dragon mania android. Movie Review
After viewing a movie or a documentary, create a Tagxedo word cloud that represents the movie.
Poetry Memorization
If your children memorize poems, they may enjoy turning the poems they are memorizing into word clouds. Here is an example for Simon's current poem, 'How Doth the Little Crocodile?'
Tagxedo Creator Download Free Windows 7
P.S. This also helps them memorize the poem since they have to type the words in!
Bible Memory Verse
Use the same idea posted above for poetry memorization.
Self Portrait
Ask your student to think of the following: gifts, talents, personality traits, interests, favorite things. Type the words into Tagxedo and make a self portrait word cloud.
Document a Field Trip
After you go on a field trip, have your student add words to the generator that summarize the field trip. Where was it? What did he learn? Who went with you?
Geography Project
Use an outline of a continent, country, or state and fill it in with words that describe the place. Here is an example for Indiana. This would be fantastic for a geography fair project!
Thank You Card
Use Tagxedo to create an artistic image for the front of a thank you note. Continue the writing lesson by writing a few sentences inside the card.
Summarize a Historical Person, Event, or Time Period
Studying Ancient Egypt? Add words like pyramid, mummy, hieroglyphs, and Tutankhamen to your word cloud. Add as many as you can think of. Be sure to choose or upload a shape that suits your project.
Guessing Game
Is your student studying an animal? Historical time period? Ask him to choose a generic shape and to add words about his topic of study without adding the actual topic. When you look at your student's finished word cloud, can you guess what he was writing about?
Related Words
This is what Simon and I did with cat. Choose a topic and generate as many words as possible for that subject. The words can be verbs, nouns, adjectives–it doesn't matter as long as they are related to the main subject. Simon likes this option and chose 'water' as a subject. His finished product is below.
Tagxedo Download
Make a Book
Combine pages of states, countries, or animals and create a book.
What ways will you play with Tagxedo?
If you are looking for more happy homeschool writing ideas, I have Creative Writing lessons here, and an entire board of goodness on Pinterest.
Since Chrome discontinued support for NPAPI it has become clear how many tools depend on Java or Silverlight to function. My two favorite word cloud generators, Wordle and Tagxedo, are no longer a choice on our district's Chromebooks. Fear not, below are several Chrome friendly options!Personal Favorites
Tagxedo Creator For Kids
- Tagul: My top choice for older students. The free version provides a good selection of word cloud shapes, several font choices, color options, and the ability to manually move and resize specific words. An account is required (can login with Google), files can be saved to edit/access later. The site is supported through pro subscriptions, banner advertising and word cloud product sales.
- ABCya Word Clouds for Kids: My top choice for early elementary. Just enough features and customization options without overwhelming students. Final products can be printed or saved as a JPEG. No login or fees associated with this tool.
- Word Cloud Generator: Built in to Google Docs, this Add-on works in the sidebar. When enabled, it automatically generates a cloud based on the entire document. Common and user defined words can be ignored. Top word counts can be appended to the document; the visualization can not be embedded in the document. This is most useful as a writing or reading tool.
Tagxedo Creator Download Free Microsoft
Honorable Mentions
- Word It Out: Limited layout (no shapes), short list of good fonts, font and background color selection. No login is required (only to save), final image must be screen-captured.
- Make Word Mosaic: Best choice if the shape is important, as there are near unlimited options (including editing and uploading your own). Short list of fonts, limited color selection, and text size is not related to frequency. Final images have a watermark; can be downloaded or embedded.
Tagxedo Wordle
Wondering how word clouds can be used the classroom? Check out this presentation highlighting 40 different activities. For an alternative view read Word clouds considered harmful.