dingbat

'Midge was such a dingbat', Jenny Fields wrote in her autobiography, 'that she went to Hawaii for a vacation during World War Two.'

"The compulsive editor, when checking the specs on an article, can't help checking also for such items as initial capital and closing dingbat, if they are used routinely. These decorative items have a way of being forgotten..."

This can be a dingbat, anagram, word puzzle, riddle or other quick warm-up activity and demonstrates to your students that when they come into your lessons, you get them thinking right away.