A wand, an umbrella and a wallet — in Danish

TRYLLESTAV is a magic wand. At ten letters it is also the longest thing in the grid, which is why children usually spot it first. The other five are shorter: HANDSKE (glove), PARAPLY (umbrella), TEGNEBOG (wallet), plus RING and BADGE. A picture next to the puzzle shows each object, so nothing has to be guessed at — the whole job is to recognise the Danish word and draw a ring round it.

Two of these come almost free to an English speaker. BADGE and RING are spelled exactly as we spell them, which hands a beginner an early success and makes a point worth making: Danish and English share a great deal of ground. TEGNEBOG is the opposite case, built out of smaller pieces the way Danish likes to build its nouns. Saying so takes ten seconds and tends to stay with a child.

Small everyday objects are sensible first vocabulary because they are within reach all day. When the sheet is done, the words can move onto the things themselves — a paper label reading HANDSKE by the gloves, PARAPLY by the umbrella stand. Teachers can use it as the printable half of a five-minute Danish slot; a parent can keep it in the car. All it needs is a pencil.