Blog
10 Unique Ways Teachers use Microsoft Word
- January 24, 2025
- Posted by: The Teachers Academy
- Category: All Blog Postings Classroom Activities Educator Resources / News Online Courses

Microsoft Word is an essential tool in every teacher’s digital toolkit. But beyond the basics of writing and formatting, many teachers are finding innovative ways to use Word’s more latent features to enhance learning, encourage creativity, and streamline classroom management. We spoke with educators from across grade levels and subjects to learn how they are using Microsoft Word in the classroom. Here’s a list of 10 fresh ideas that will transform teaching and learning in your classes.
1. Interactive Timelines for History Lessons
Interviewee: Mr. Harris, 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher
How he uses Word: “In my history classes, I love using Word to create interactive timelines. I insert a table, adjust the columns to represent different years, and then fill in historical events and images. Students can click on links to external sources or videos for more context. It’s a fun way for them to visualize historical events in chronological order.
Pro Tip: “I also encourage students to create their own timelines in Word. It helps them better understand the sequence of events while building their digital literacy skills.”
New Word Skills: Inserting and formatting tables; Inserting Hyperlinks
Here are a few more ideas if you want more history/tech integration:
7 Digital Tools That Help Bring History to Life
2. Scavenger Hunts for Learning Review
Interviewee: Mrs. Evans, High School Chemistry Teacher
How she uses Word: “During Covid, I was desperate to find a way to make online learning fun again. I created escape rooms and scavenger hunts. And the kids really loved it! The premise is that the students are trapped in a high-tech Chemistry Lab. They must solve a series of science-related riddles that serve as passwords to unlock documents. Each document contains a key to solving the next puzzle, and the goal is to “escape” the lab by unlocking all the required documents and solving the final riddle.”
Pro Tip: “I add hyperlinks to the document so students can click through and get to different sections when they solve a clue. It’s a great way to make learning more interactive and competitive!”
New Word Skills: Inserting course hyperlinks, and password protection
More tech ideas for the elementary classroom can be found in this Edutopia article:
13 Virtual Games to Play in Your Elementary Classroom
3. Design Collaborative Class Stories
Interviewee: Ms. Nguyen, 2nd Grade Teacher
How she uses Word: “For creative writing projects, I have my students collaboratively write stories. I start with a simple prompt, and each student adds one sentence or paragraph to the story. Using Word’s ‘Track Changes’ feature, I can see who contributed what, and it encourages students to take ownership of the writing process.”
Pro Tip: “I make sure to have a rotating schedule for each student’s turn, which keeps them engaged and allows for collaboration at every step of the story.”
New Word Skills: Inserting Comments and Track Changes
4. Create Interactive Study Guides and Flashcards
Interviewee: Mrs. Niland, 4th Grade Teacher
How she uses Word: “I use Word’s table feature to create study guides or flashcards. I put questions within a table on one page and answers on the another. I will hyperlink the questions to the correct answer in the document! Then I’ll save them as a PDF for digital use without editing… It’s basically a digital flashcard.”
Pro tip: For added interactivity, I incorporate hyperlinks to websites or videos that reinforce the material. Or I can print these double-sided for actual flashcards.
New Word Skills: Inserting Hyperlinks, saving as a pdf
5. Design Interactive Lab Reports for Science Students
Interviewee: Ms. Coleman, High School Chemistry Teacher
How she uses Word: “For lab reports, I create interactive templates that guide my students through the scientific method. I use form fields for sections like hypothesis, variables, and results. I also create a spreadsheet and link this to their word documents. I can update values on the spreadsheet as students submit them and the linked spreadsheet will automatically update in the Word document. This keeps the students focused on the experiment while making the writing process easier.”
Pro Tip: “I include drop-down menus on my Lab Template documents for common lab equipment and common error types so that students can easily fill in the template without spending too much time searching for the right words.”
New Word Skills: Developer tab, Content Controls, Linking spreadsheets
You can review LOTS of resources for your Science Class and earn 3 hours of professional development: Science Website Reviews for Teachers.
6. Use custom classroom templates for permission slips, lesson plans, passes, etc.
Interviewee: Mrs. Allen, 4th Grade Reading Teacher
How she uses Word: I create and save reusable templates for everything from newsletters to lesson plans, permission slips, and report cards. I have used the templates provided by Word and had success making my own.
Pro Tip: Once I build a template that works, I can save it as a .dot file (Word template file), which ensures that you always have a standardized format ready to go for each new task. I developed my own classroom aesthetic!
New Word Skills: Creating and formatting templates
7. Host Virtual Book Clubs with Word
Interviewee: Mr. Brown, 8th Grade English Teacher
How he uses Word: “During our remote learning period, I started using Word to facilitate virtual book clubs. I create a shared document where students can post their thoughts, questions, and responses to discussion prompts about the book we’re reading. Everyone can read and comment on each other’s posts in real time.” (NOTE: Office 365 is required for live updates and real-time sharing.)
Pro Tip: “I also use ‘Comments’ to leave feedback or ask follow-up questions about their thoughts. It helps students engage more deeply with the text and each other.”
New Word Skills: Add Comments
8. Design Digital Art Portfolios
Interviewee: Ms. Patel, High School Art Teacher
How she uses Word: “Instead of paper-based portfolios, I’ve been having my art students create digital portfolios in Word. They insert photos of their artwork, along with descriptions of their process and reflections on each piece. It’s a fantastic way to track their progress and showcase their work overtime.”
Pro Tip: “We also use Word’s ‘Watermark’ feature to create a soft background logo with their names or an artistic motif for their portfolios. And yes, this watermark is also customized!”
New Word Skills: Inserting images and custom watermarks
9. Translate documents for Multi Language Learners
Interviewee: Mrs. King, 7th Grade Teacher
How she uses Word: “I use the translate option to quickly translate my documents into almost any language for all the multi-language learners at the school. I have also used this skill to help with parent letters.”
Pro Tip: “Among the language assistant tools is the “read aloud” option which I have used for all students wanting to proof their work before submitting.”
New Word Skills: Translate and Read Aloud
10. Create Interactive Digital Notebooks for Research Projects
Interviewee: Mr. Simmons, 11th Grade History Teacher
How he uses Word: “For research projects, I have students create digital notebooks in Word. They organize their research into different sections—such as background information, primary sources, and analysis—using headings and bullet points. Students can easily hyperlink their sources and notes, making it a dynamic resource for their final papers. Also, when the Clipboard is open students can copy multiple words at once to quickly create a blank vocabulary list or flash cards of terms at the end of their notebook.”
Pro Tip: “I recommend using Word’s ‘Navigation Pane’ so students can quickly jump between different sections of their notebooks. It helps with organization and makes their research more accessible.”
New Word Skills: Hyperlinks, Navigation Pane, and Copy/ Collect on the Clipboard
Although this list is not exhaustive, it opens the door to so many options with a program we already know! A special thank you to the teachers who contributed to this list and sharing their innovative ideas. If you want to earn professional development hours while going Beyond the Basics in Microsoft Word, you can! The Teacher’s Academy is here for your continuing educational needs. For more information, check out our new course, Beyond the Basics: Microsoft Word. State requirements for professional development can be found on our State page.