Teach-nology.com's Crossword Puzzle Maker

Our staff has been asked numerous times to recommend an on-line crossword maker. As many of our newsletter subscribers are aware, the crossword puzzle makers available at other web sites are randomly generated. Due to this, when you create a puzzle with 15 words the program may only list 6 or 7 words.

At TeAch-nology.com we believe that humans (teachers) can do it better! With our Crossword Puzzle Maker, you have complete control of how and where the words fit into the puzzle.

To begin using our free Crossword Puzzle Maker, click here!

How to Make a Crossword Puzzle for Your Class

Are you a teacher looking for a fun and engaging way to review vocabulary or important terms with your students? If so, why not make a crossword puzzle! Crossword puzzles are easy to create and can be tailored to focus on any topic. This article will show you how to make a crossword puzzle for your classroom in a few simple steps.

How to Manually Make a Classroom Crossword

To make a crossword puzzle, use a word processing program or spreadsheet to create a grid. You can also use graph paper to make your grid. The grid size will depend on the number of words you want to include in your puzzle.

Next, decide your crossword's theme. Is it for reviewing vocabulary? Or perhaps you want a crossword for your science class so that your students can easily learn the branches of biology. Whatever theme you decide, make sure you stick to it; otherwise, your students will get confused.

Now that you have a theme, you will need a list of words. You can use a dictionary to find words that fit your puzzle's theme. You can also refer to your trust textbook and teacher guide for terminologies and vocabulary.

Once you have your list of words, you can enter them into the grid. Start with the longer words and work your way down to the shorter words. Make sure that all of the words fit into the grid. See which words can overlap on similar letters to make the puzzle easier.

When all of the words are in the grid, number the boxes where your words are initiating. Be cautious as the sequence of clues depends on the numbering. A single mistake can make the entire game go haywire.

After numbering your words, you can begin adding clues. You can find clues by looking up the definition of the terms you want to review or by using wordplay. Reviewing vocabulary can make it more challenging by adding synonyms and antonyms to the clues.

When you have all the clues written, sort them out in the categories of across and down. Pay attention to the number of the corresponding word to ensure the correct order of clues.

Consider your crossword puzzle complete after adding and sorting all of the clues! Get them copied and distribute them among the class for a fun and engaging review. You can also make it an open book assessment for tough yet important chapters.

Using Our Crossword Puzzle Maker (Free)

If you don't want to go through the hassle of placing words on the grid, go for an online crossword puzzle maker. Free of cost, various online software and websites only require the vocab list with clues. Placing the words in the grid, numbering them, and ordering the clues are done by the software. And voila! Your crossword is ready for print.

Conclusion

Crosswords are a great tool to review vocabularies or learn terminologies. They are fun and engaging and help students think outside the box to find answers. You can also assess your students with crosswords and track your students' weak areas or concepts.

Let tools like a classroom crossword make your teaching easy and fun.