1. Click on 'Hive games' from the left hand menu on the EdShed homepage or click the red button on the EdShed homepage. Alternatively, you can access this through Spelling Shed > System > Hive Games.
2. Then click '+ Create Hive'.
3. Choose the word list you would like to use (you can choose from your own lists or our scheme). The lists with phonics next to them mean that the letters will be sounded out instead of the letter names.
4. Once you have chosen your stage (year) and list, click 'Play'.
5. Choose a difficulty for the game
Difficulty explained:
Easy: They are given the exact right letters which they need to put in the right order.
Medium: They will be given the right letters plus a couple more.
Hard: They will be given more tiles than the medium level.
Extreme: Shows the whole keyboard and capital letters are also included here.
6. Choose how many words you want to include in the game.
7. Enable Shuffle words, if you would like them displayed in a different order to the list.
8. Enable “Show Words” to display each word on your screen as you play. If your computer is not connected to the Interactive Whiteboard or you want to ‘freeze’ it this can be helpful if someone hasn’t heard the word.
9. Enable autoplay if you want the game to flow by itself and not wait for you to click 'next word'. If you are helping a pupil this can be very useful.
10. Enable hub audio if you are playing the hive in the classroom and want the words to be played through your speakers and not through each pupil's device individually. You can use the test speaker at the side to test the hub audio.
11. Choose if you want the leagues to be shown after each word to show everyone's scores.
12. Click “Create Game” to create your Hive game.
13. You will then be given a Hive game code - These last for 90 days so you can schedule future games.
14. Pupils must be logged into the app or browser to play and enter the code on the home screen to play.
15. When you can see that everyone has joined the game click “Start Game”.
You can also start a Hive game by using the 'create Hive' button found on a spelling list page.
Please follow link below to a video which explains this in more detail and shows you the game from a pupil's perspective.