👁️ How to create a Watch and Memorize activity

The Watch and Memorize template is an engaging, high-energy way to test student recall and observation skills. Unlike a static quiz, this activity keeps students on their toes as they must closely watch a sequence of items before making split-second decisions on what they saw.

In this article:

• How is the Watch and Memorize activity played?

• How and what do you type into Edit content for Watch and Memorize?

• Where can I find some more examples?

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How the activity is played

The game features an initial observation phase followed by a fast-paced recall phase.

• The observation phase: The user is shown a series of items on the screen for a limited time. They must focus and memorize everything displayed.

• The interaction: Once the observation phase ends, the conveyor belt moves or items fly across the screen. The user must quickly tap or click only the items they remember seeing.

• The challenge: Each correctly tapped item is marked green, while clicking distractors costs lives, rewarding swift visual processing and accurate short-term memory.

• Completion: On the final screen, users can review their overall performance metrics, enter their name on the leader board, or complete the memory challenge again.

  

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Creating your Watch and Memorize activity

1. Click Create Activity, search for Watch and Memorize in the template selection box, and select it.

   

   
    

2. Add your content:

   • Target items: Enter the target words, phrases, or numbers that students need to study and remember during the game.

   • Optional: You can click the image icon on any item to upload a picture, turning the task into a visual asset identification game.

3. Click Add an item or press Enter to add more questions. The more items you add to your bank, the more varied and dynamic each game session will be.

4. Click Done to save. Wordwall will compile your data fields and automatically construct the randomised memory sequence.

   
    

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

6.    

   • Timer
     • Adjust the countdown numbers to set a strict time limit for the recall round. In the screenshot, this is locked at 0 minutes and 30 seconds, giving students half a minute to successfully pick out the correct memory items before time expires.
   • Speed
     • Adjust the slider to determine how fast the target items move across or pass through the screen area. In the screenshot, this is set to level 5, which is the standard operational velocity. You can lower it for a slower, easier pace or slide it up to test rapid tracking reflexes.
   • Number to remember
     • Use this slider to control the core difficulty of the memory challenge by setting exactly how many items will be shown during the initial observation phase. In the screenshot, this parameter is set to 5 items.
   • Random
     • Different layout each play: When selected, the items appear in thoroughly randomised positions and entry sequences each time the activity restarts, preventing students from simply memorising muscle movements.
     • Always the same layout: Keeps the item sequence and display patterns identical across every play sequence.
   • End of game
     • Show answers: When checked, this allows students to see a full summary review of all correct memory targets at the conclusion of the session, providing an path for self-correction.
   • Saving options
     • Apply to this activity: Saves these specific countdown, velocity, and item capacity rules only for the single active game file you are currently editing.
     • More: Click this drop-down to find:
       • Set as default for template: Remembers these visual style choices and option rules as your standard configuration layout for all future activities you build using the Watch and Memorize template.
       • Revert to default: Clears your recent changes and restores the parameters back to your previously saved personal defaults.
       • Revert to author's setting: Restores the memory board configuration fields back to the original layout settings configured by the initial community creator.

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Creating Watch and Memorize 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 Watch and Memorize.

   

   
    

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

   
    

3. Enter your content:

   • Topic: Type a clear thematic target like "Sight Words for Early Readers" or "Chemical Element Symbols."

   • Text / Notes: Paste your summary paragraphs, vocabulary definitions, or study guides. The AI will isolate key nouns, equations, or targets and cleanly format them into the item rows.

   • File: Upload a PDF or Word doc. Wordwall AI will analyze the structural formatting of your document and instantly extract a comprehensive list of core study terms to build the observation pool.

4. Click Generate. Review the populated target items list, manually edit or adjust any values to suit your lesson constraints, and hit Done.

   

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Need inspiration?

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