Have a great idea for a poem? A little bit stuck? This tool, a word association web for kids, can help you find interesting words to put in your writing or poetry.

You know what you want to write, but the words don’t come. It’s called writer’s block, and sometimes you just need a little nudge. Say you want to write about spring, for instance, but there are so many directions a poem about spring could take, it’s hard to choose when you’re not sure where you want to end up. Or perhaps you want to brainstorm.

A Word Association Web gives you related concepts and sensory words to help you explore where an idea might lead. Instead of staring at ‘spring’ and drawing a blank, you’ll see words that spark different directions, helping you discover the thoughts that feel right for your poem.

For word exploration check out the rhyming dictionary in the poetry hub.

How to Use it

Pick any word from the categories below, or type your own into the box and hit Explore. You’ll see six cards appear: what the word looks like, what it sounds like, how it feels, the emotions it brings up, related ideas, and word pictures, which are little phrases that compare your word to something else. Those word pictures are especially good for poems.

Click any highlighted word in the results to explore that word next. You can keep jumping from word to word until you find the perfect one.