Crossword Puzzles

Crossword puzzles

Religion: any and all

Purpose: to reinforce and test familiarity with terms

Cognitive Skills: knowledge

Learning Styles: verbal, reflective

Intelligences: linguistic

Use: as homework or in class for testing

For: individuals, pairs, small groups

Estimated time: 15 - 30 minutes (though not necessarily in one sitting)

Materials needed: graph paper, pencil or web resources

The Activity:

Students who enjoy word games can be tasked with creating a crossword puzzle specific to one or another religion, using terms related to the specified religion.
Other students can be given puzzles to solve created by their classmates.
Crossword puzzles can be used as an alternative to traditional tests - they are the equivalent of fill-in-the-blank.

Web resources: there are a number of crossword puzzle makers available online. Use a search engine to locate one you like. Here are results from a Google search. Most require the user to enter both the words and clues so students doing this will have an opportunity to reinforce their understanding of the terms they are learning and teachers can see, by the results, if students have used the best clues to identify each term.

Alternative possibilities: any topic that is term heavy can use a crossword puzzle to reinforce or test familiarity with terms.