⌨️ How to create a Type the answer activity

The Type the answer template is a dynamic quiz format that challenges students to recall information and spell it correctly. Instead of picking from multiple choices, students must manually type their responses, making it an excellent tool for rigorous assessment and vocabulary mastery.

In this article:

• How is the Type the answer activity played?

• How and what do you type into Edit content for Type the answer?

• Where can I find some more examples?

---

How the activity is played

The game presents a series of questions or prompts one at a time.

• The prompt: A question, phrase, or image is displayed at the center of the screen.

• The interaction: The student must type the correct answer into the text box using their physical keyboard or the on-screen letter pad.

• Feedback: After submitting, the game indicates whether the answer is correct. If incorrect, the correct spelling is revealed (depending on your settings).

• Completion: Once all questions are answered, students can see their final score, total time, and submit their results to the Leaderboard.

  

---

Creating your Type the answer activity

1. Click Create Activity and choose Type the answer.

   
    

2. Add your content:

   • Question & Spelling: Choose either question & answer or spelling test, then enter the prompt, definition, or question.

   • Answer: Enter the exact word or phrase the student must type.

   • Alternative Answer: You can click the "plus" sign to add alternative correct answers (e.g., if both "USA" and "United States" are acceptable).

3. Optional: Click the image icon to add a visual prompt. This is great for "Identify the object" style tasks.

4. Click Add an item or press Enter to add the next question.

5. Click Done to save your activity.

   
    

6. Scroll down to Visuals to add a creative style to your activity, or tailor the difficulty in the Options panel below the activity:

   

• Timer:

  • None: Students can take as much time as they need to type.

  • Count up: Measures how quickly the student completes the set.

  • Count down: Adds pressure by requiring an answer before the clock runs out.

• End of game:

  • Show answers: Allows students to review the full list of correct responses at the end of the session.

• Random:

  • Shuffle item order: Shuffles the original order of items in the activity

• Keyboard language:

  • Auto: Detects your content language to provide the correct on-screen special characters.

  • Manual selection: Allows you to pick a specific keyboard layout for language-specific lessons.

• Saving options:

  • Apply to this activity: Saves choices for the current game.

  • Set as default for template: Sets these options as your standard for all future Type the answer activities.

  • Revert to default: Returns to your previously saved personal defaults.

  • Revert to author's setting: Restores the settings used by the original creator of a community activity.

---

Creating Type the answer with AI

You don't need to be a prompt expert to use our AI. It is designed to be intuitive and accessible directly from the activity creator.

1. Click Create Activity and select Type the answer.

   
    

2. Look for the ✨ Generate with AI button (magic wand icon) at the top right of the content editor.

   
    

3. Enter your content:

   • Topic: Type a subject like "Common Spanish Verbs" or "Periodic Table Symbols."

   • Text / Notes: Paste a passage from a textbook. The AI will create questions based on the key facts.

   • File: Upload a PDF or Word doc. The AI will scan the text and generate a list of short-answer questions.

4. Click Generate. Review the question/answer pairs, ensure the answers are concise enough to be typed, and hit Done.

   

---

Need inspiration?

Some examples of Type the Answer activities have been created by our users and shared with the Wordwall resource community.