1. What’s Next
The World’s Best Spelling, Vocabulary, And Critical Thinking Game
Thomas J. Palumbo
Director, What’s Next, Inc.

2. What’s Next (Introduction)
The link below will take you to a movie of the game What’s Next being demonstrated in the classroom.
The game can be adjusted for any grade and any subject with just a little bit of imagination and some acting flair.
Early childhood classes act out what is next after students line up in the form of a secret like boy, girl or hand up, hand down.
Source: 2 Lesson 10 What_Next - Broadband.mov

3. What’s Next (Directions)
Place these two words under each other on the whiteboard.
Amy
Beth
Tell the class you have a secret for why these words are written in this order.
Class! Please do not call out the answer. Give me the next word and I will know you know the secret answer.
After we have seven words in our column and five members in our secret’s club, we will share the secret with everyone.

4. What’s Next (Directions)
The next word could be Carol, Cathy, Connie or other girl’s name starting with the letter C.
Amy
Beth
Carla
Donna
Ellen
Fran
Gina
After we have seven words, ask a “secret” knower to share what they saw.
The answer to this secret is A, B, C order and girl’s names. If a boy’s name is given, I do not accept it, and the game continues.

5. What’s Next (Teacher Hints)
Have your students record the words in the game as they are given. The next answer, when it is given, can be written under each column.
Sheets of paper with columns and word slots can be given to each student.
Illustrate the best word in each list after the words are called out for everyone to hear and then be solved.
Teams of two can try solving a ‘seven’s list’ created by another team as a mini-contest.
Archive the lists generated in class in a notebook, portfolio, or in a computer program for future reference.

6. What’s Next (What Clues To Use?)
There are over fifty challenges at every grade level. After exhausting my ideas and your ideas, ask students to make up two lists of their own. Have them place the best of the two on the whiteboard. First two words only.
Now the game goes from teacher directed to student directed as students try to guess the next word in their classmate’s list. This lesson now becomes a great leadership skill’s developer.
This is the perfect game for the classroom or when covering someone else’s classroom or reading group.

7. What’s Next (Thinking Themes)
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Tea
Cab
Magic
Friend
Page
Fluff
Bring

8. What’s Next (Thinking Themes)
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer.
Tea
Cab
Magic
Friend
Page
Fluff
Bring
The answer is that the last letter of each word is in alphabetical order.

9. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Storm
Tent
Ends
Nothing
Open
Pretty
Rest

10. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Storm
Tent
Ends
Nothing
Open
Pretty
Rest
The second letter in the first word begins the next word.

11. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Aaron
Baby
Carriage
Date
Eating
Faces
Game

12. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Aaron
Baby
Carriage
Date
Eating
Faces
Game
Alphabetical order with the second letter being an A.

13. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Pen
All
Luck
Under
Mom
Boy
Open

14. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Pen
All
Luck
Under
Mom
Boy
Open
The teacher’s last name followed by the name of someone in the class.

15. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Only
Top
Tiny
Fear
Fill
Socks
Sit

16. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Only
Top
Tiny
Fear
Fill
Socks
Sit
Each line starts with the o in one, t in two, and so on. (A real super)

17. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Drape
Habit
Racer
Ended
Green
Lifts
Pages

18. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Drape
Habit
Racer
Ended
Green
Lifts
Pages
Five letter words, middle letter in A, B, C order.

19. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list.
For this activity the students give two words at a time after seeing the starting pair.
Ask
Answer
Bend
Break
Calm
Crazy

20. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms.
For this activity the students give two words at a time after seeing the starting pair.
Ask
Answer
Bend
Break
Calm
Crazy
The words are opposites and start with the same letter in alphabetical order.

21. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Zero
Yells
X-ray
West
Vest
Upset
Table

22. What’s Next
Here are some thinking themes we have used in a variety of grade level and skill level classrooms. You are seeing all seven answers and will be missing the one word at a time development of the list. My students recommended that I have each word fly into the list even though the words would be different from participants that know the answer..
Zero
Yells
X-ray
West
Vest
Upset
Table
Reverse alphabetical order.

23. What’s Next
Use additional slides for your favorite themes. Please share your ideas and these ideas with other teachers, student teachers, parents, or at a staff development training session.
This is a great warm-up for any workshop to get the minds of students and teachers in a working and thinking mode.

24. What’s Next
Here are some additional theme ideas, once again, starting with only the first two words at a time:
First word starts with A, second word ends with B, third starts with C.
Alphabetical animals
A, E, I, O, U words, one after another
Presidents Washington, Adams,
Second word starts with last letter of the first word and so on
Great lakes in HOMES order
Plurals_Word ending in S, then ES word, then IES word, then S again
8. Words you can put RE in front of
(turn, port, write, main)_(Super)
9. Types of habitats_house, hut