Step 1: Log in to Wordshark Online

1. Click on the link provided in your welcome email or copy and paste the unique URL into a web browser – Google Chrome / Safari is recommended.

1. Enter your email as your username - as shown in the email.

1. Once you have changed your password you need to sign back in straight away                          

1. You can check/edit your personal details from the Dashboard/Profile now or at a later stage.

Step 2: Add Groups and Students

1. Groups are the basis for managing the program. Groups can be any suitable group such as a work group, class, club etc.
   

1. Every teacher and student has to be assigned to a group. A student may be in more than one group, and teachers can share groups. Teachers only see their own group plus any others that they share.
   

1. After checking your details, the next screen will show you any group(s) and students that have already been set up for you by the Administrator. Click Next (bottom right).

1. In the next step you can edit students and add new students and groups. You don’t have to include emails or tags for students unless you want to. Tags are useful to filter for things like SEN, EAL, Gifted and talented – that might be distributed amongst your Groups.

1. At any time later, you can add/edit your groups and students under Groups & Users.
   

1. Information buttons, and the question mark top right of the main screens provide help.

1. Go to Groups & Users then Student Logins lower on screen. Select Individual student logins to clipboard and then the group and OK, ready to paste into an email - or choose to print labels to hand out.
   

        

1. Remind everyone to bookmark the school’s unique website login address – needed for each time they log in. Alternatively they can download a shortcut to their desktop - see circled in the screenshot.  More information on setting up a shortcut.
   

         

Students’ journey

1. The first thing all students do is take the Shark Challenge (adaptive assessment and placement test) - please don’t allow any prompts when they are doing this.

1. They will then be suitably placed in Supershark (Wordshark course with automatic progression) - but you can change their Supershark Unit level at any time (or reset the test), under the Set work tab.
   

1. Students are given differing sets of games (with an optional reward game every third game).
   

1. They are moved through the course sequentially - generally they need 85% or higher accuracy in a spelling check game (spelling test) to move to the next list.
   

1. The students might need reminding to look at their new target words (under My play words) every time they move to a new list, and to be a detective as to why these words are put together in one list.

Find out more on the Shark Challenge placement test and Supershark the automatic progression course

Day to day usage

1. Consider sticking with the default Supershark course to start with (though you as teacher can set work from any course - or add your own lists to set).   
   

1. Use a printout of the Wordshark/Supershark course to plan realistic targets for your students to aim for. 

1. Aim to use the program a suggested x 3 per week, maybe during lessons, homework and clubs. This info page may also be helpful: Advice, encouragement and usage

1. Reports on Supershark are updated overnight so daily progress will show up the following day.  Set work reports are available straight away.

Other information that may be helpful/worth exploring

Information for parents / students

Setting Work using Published Courses

Creating your own Word Lists

Progress Reports