Student Created Crossword Puzzle Exercise
Teachers
often give crosswords based on reading texts to their students. This is a good idea,
but an even better idea is to have students in small groups work together to
create crossword puzzles based on texts, which they will give to another group
to solve. I have done this with different texts in several classes and each
time my students have applied themselves with great concentration to the task.
It
is important that you have students do this in steps. The first step is to
provide the students with a text and a small sample crossword puzzle based on
the text you have made. Have students solve the puzzle. Then explain that they
will create their own crossword puzzle. It is important to explain that each
word in the puzzle must be related to the text. Also, make it clear that
letters which touch in the crossword puzzle must make words.
Below
is a text and a sample crossword puzzle my students solved before creating
their own puzzles. Following the sample crossword puzzle is the blank crossword
puzzle form I gave the students to use.
The Seashore
Two-thirds
of the earth is covered with water. The unique area where the sea and land meet
is called the seashore or sometimes the shore. Along the seashore live a
variety of plants and animals. Every shore is different and each shore is
constantly changing. If you go to a beach at the same time for two days, you
will see different animals and plants in different places. The waves will be
different. Each day, you will see different objects, moved by the power of the
sea.
If
you stay at a seashore, you will notice the sea coming up to the land or moving
away from the land. This movement is called the tide. High tide is when the sea
comes up towards land. When the sea moves away from land, it is low tide. Tides
are created by the moon and sun. The area of seashore that is under water at
high tide and above water at low tide is the intertidal zone. Many animals and
plants living in the intertidal zone can live in and out of water.
Along
seashores, we often see plants that live in the intertidal zone and the
subtidal zone, which means the area which is not uncovered by low tide. The
subtidal zone is always below water. Plants in the sea are usually called
seaweeds. Unlike plants on land, seaweeds never have flowers. Many animals eat
seaweeds or other animals that live on and near seaweeds, such as crabs, fish
prawns, etc. The California sea otter often wraps its body with seaweed before
sleeping to stop it from moving in the ocean. Humans use seaweeds for food,
fertilizer (plant food), medicine, and many other uses. One species of seaweed,
called the giant kelp, can grow to over 100 meters long.
People
often gather mollusks at the seashore. Mollusks are animals which usually have
a soft body that is protected by a hard shell. They usually move very slowly on
a muscular footlike body part. Commonly eaten mollusks are clams, oysters,
scallops, abalone. Squid, and octopus are mollusks without hard shells.
At
the seashore close to where I live, I often see people gathering sea-urchins,
which are animals that look like balls with many long, sharp needles. The
yellow and orange eggs of sea-urchins are very popular in Japan. Although
sea-urchins are small, they are powerful enough to scrape holes in rocks and
metal.
Tide
pools are small, but fascinating habitats. Tide pools are small pools in which
water stays during low tides. Small fish, starfish, crabs, and sea anemones are
commonly found in tide pools. Fish that live in tide pools have eyes near the
top of their heads so they can watch for birds. Sea anemones look like flowers,
but they are animals that catch and eat other animals with their flowerlike
parts.
Unfortunately,
humans are quickly destroying seashores with pollution and habitat destruction.
The earth needs our protection. When you go to a seashore, do not litter.
Please pick up and take garbage away. Plastic bags and other garbage kill
millions of sea animals every year.
Cross Word Puzzle
Across
4. 2/3 is
covered with water.
5. Japanese love to eat their eggs.
5. Japanese love to eat their eggs.
Down
1. Hard
things that protect most molusks.
2. Animals that sleep with seaweed.
3. Movements of water up and down seashores.
2. Animals that sleep with seaweed.
3. Movements of water up and down seashores.
Make Your Own Crossword Puzzle
Write the
words on the puzzle form and write your clues with a pencil. Write the numbers
for each word with a pen. When you have finished writing the words and clues,
use a pen to draw borders around the words. After that, erase the words and
pass the crossword puzzle to another group for them to solve.
Across
Down
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