Purpose Statement
Completing Vocabulary Puzzles encourages students to do
nearly error-free work, (since by finishing the puzzle it needs to be almost
completely correct).
Description of Activity
Students are given crossword puzzles to be used for review
of words discussed in class from short stories or curriculum terminology.
Students are given “clues” for the words, which they fill in the crossword
puzzle form.
There is also an "Internet Crossword Creator" put out by the company,
so the students can practice online. (This would be better as a non-graded
extra practice activity for your students.)
Materials Needed
I use a CD-ROM “Puzzle Power” by Centron Software, Inc.
(1-800-848-2424). It includes wordsearches, wordscrambles and other puzzle
programs. The time needed to create a puzzle is minimal. For each class, I
spend approximately 10-20 minutes making a puzzle.
Application
Since I started using the vocabulary puzzle activities, I
notice that the students’ task precision seems greatly increased; one blank
word and they are very upset - they want a “perfect” puzzle. It is rare for a
student to score below 90% on the puzzle assignments. I also find them fun,
engaging, and useful tools for practicing vocabulary. The students remark that
they enjoy using the puzzles for review and homework activities.
Links and Handouts
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web page was created on 6/6/99 at 6:51:35 PM
and modified on 6/6/99 at 6:51:35 PM