The World News Crossword - June 3rd, 2018 This resource pack will help your students review some of last week’s news stories. If you have students work in small groups they’ll get excited about being the first to finish, but more importantly, they’ll discuss the news stories and ask why these events happened. They will also learn that their smartphone can be used for something other than Facebook. In last week’s news… Prince William announced he will visit Israel, Palestine and Jordan in the summer. Israeli tanks shelled the Gaza Strip. And a volunteer paramedic was shot and killed as she ran (with her hands in the air) to help a wounded protester. The EU announced a plan to reduce the amount of plastic food and drink containers in use. In Thailand, a whale died after consuming more than 80 plastic bags. Rare, tropical Australian fish were found around New Zealand after an unusually hot summer warmed the Tasman Sea. Residents in Shimla, in India, asked tourists to stay away because of water shortages being caused by a heatwave in Punjab, which also caused more than 60 deaths in Pakistani Punjab. Just a little further north, a 21 year old Kashmiri was killed when he was run down by an Indian army vehicle. Further south in India, 14 people died because of the Nipah virus. 8 more cases of Ebola virus were reported in Democratic Republic of Congo, in Africa. Immigrants from Africa have found an easier and cheaper route to Europe - from Morocco to Spain. A Malian immigrant rescued a small child who was hanging dangerously from an apartment balcony in Paris. More than a million French smokers quit cigarettes last year. And so we’ve included a bonus crossword about France in this week’s resource pack. As well as The World News Crossword, there are 2 Search & Cloze puzzles that will give a little more information about stories that have persisted for several weeks or months. This week these backgrounder puzzles are on Trade Wars and Immigration.

The World News Crossword - May 27th, 2018 is a simple pdf made up of a crossword based on the events in last week’s news a search & cloze activity that explains Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a search & cloze activity that gives background information about North Korea a crossword all and only about the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And the solutions are included, of course. Excellent for Geography, Economics, English, SEN, PSHE… In the news crossword… The leaders of North and South Korea met, but not with he who shall not be named. North Korea blew up some of its research facility. Ebola cases were confirmed in DRC and 4000 trial vaccines were distributed. Switzerland’s trains were declared the world’s best. A Polish author won the Man Booker International Prize and a Swedish Court said no to a new Nobel Centre. Real Madrid won the Champions League (what a goal). A German bank announced 7000 job cuts and German police can now stop parents at airports with children during school time. Lava continued to flow on Hawaii and a hurricane swept into Oman. A UK man had to be cut out of a children’s swing, but we didn’t put that into the crossword because like him, it wouldn’t fit.

The World News Crossword - September 2nd, 2018 - a crossword based on the events of last week’s news from around the world. There are 4 puzzles in this downloadable PDF document: The World News Crossword, a crossword on Germany, a crossword on India, and a crossword on Japan. So, what happened last week? Coca-Cola bought Costa Coffee and South Korea banned the sale of coffee in schools. The US banned a railway between South and North Korea and India will help Nepal build a railway. NAFTA talks failed and Brexit talks are still failing. Lana Del Ray cancelled her Israel concert and U2 cancelled their Berlin concert. An oil-refinery explosion in Germany and in Chemnitz, there was an explosion of protests against immigrants. Amsterdam’s city council asked civil servants and Syrian immigrants with teaching experience to help resolve the teacher shortage. And a New Zealand town announced a ban on domestic cats.

The World News Crossword - July 22nd, 2018 is a 6-page PDF document made up of 4 puzzles based on the events of last week’s news. What’s in this week’s document? (1) A crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) A crossword all about Japan (which signed a free trade agreement with the EU and also experienced a devastating heatwave), (3) A crossword all about Libya (which closed its border with Tunisia and also did not approve the EU proposals to set up a refugee/migrant processing centre - did you know Libya has no permanent rivers?) and (3) A crossword all about Mother Teresa, whose orphanages in India were being inspected by authorities after accusations that staff had sold babies for adoption. (This puzzle is taken from our soon-to-be-released book, ‘Women who changed the world’.) **What happened in last week’s news? ** The EU fined Google for being very naughty and also signed a free trade agreement with Japan making trade easier. Libya closed its border with Tunisia, making trade impossible. Tourists were hurt by falling lava in Hawaii. Others drowned when their tour boat capsized in Missouri. China’s President went to Africa and the first commercial flight between Eritrea and Ethiopia occurred. Two Dutch men were arrested when they were caught on a boat with 2 tonnes of cocaine in the English Channel and French man was released from an Indonesian prison after 18 years for drug-smuggling. It turns out that Omega-3 won’t keep us safe from strokes and heart attacks, Cristiano Ronaldo is moving to Italy, and New Zealand beat France in the women’s rugby sevens world cup final.

The World. News Crossword - October 14th, 2018 is a 6-page resource that simple to use, easy to download and only costs $1. It’s a PDF document and it includes: The World News Crossword - October 14th, 2018 A crossword all about Afghanistan, A crossword all about Zimbabwe (A to Z, right?), and A crossword from our just-published Women who changed the World book. So what happened in the world. You could be forgiven if you thought the US president and Brexit were the only thing happening in the world, but no… earthquakes, flash floods, hurricane winds. In Germany there was a light plane crash, a train fire, and a hostage situation in a pharmacy (and a protest march against the far-right movement). And New Zealand announced its Bird of the Year. It’s the…

The World News Crossword - October 21st, 2018 A 6-page PDF document that includes: A crossword based the events of last week’s news, A crossword about China, A crossword about Brazil, and A crossword about Marie Curie (from our recently published Women who changed the World book). So, what happened in the news last week? A journalist was killed in the Saudi Arabia embassy in Istanbul and no one believes the explanation. Trains crashed in India and Taiwan. Lionel Messi broke his arm and Christiano Ronaldo became the first player to score 400 goals. Croatians protested against their government’s proposal to raise the retirement age to 67. The FYROM’s government changed the country’s name to North Macedonia. Brazilians voted in a presidential election, Afghans voted in a parliamentary election, Australians voted in a by-election, and 700,000 British people marched in London demanding a vote on the details of the Brexit deal. Moscow’s government did not approve the annual memorial day for victims of Stalin’s brutal regime and sent officials for a meeting with Syria’s president.

The World News Crossword - September 30th, 2018 is a crossword based on the events of last week’s news from around the world. There are 4 puzzles in this downloadable PDF document: (1) The World News Crossword, (2) a crossword about Ghana which is in a news article about preventing cocoa smuggling, (3) a crossword about Denmark, which is in a news article about closing bridges to Germany and Sweden during a hunt for 3 kidnappers, and (4) a crossword about Leaders in Sport (from our new-release, ‘Women who changed the world’). Natural disasters in Indonesia are in the news again. A major earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami which may have killed thousands of people. A teenager was swept out to sea on his fishing raft/hut and was rescued 49 days later by a passing ship. Air force planes crashed in Nigeria and the USA. A passenger jet overshot a runway in New Guinea and ended up in a lagoon. And a light plane became tangled in a zip-line at a tourist resort in South Africa. Bananas are in the news too - boxes of them donated to a Texas prison (with cocaine stashed in the boxes too) and Saudi Arabia telling Canada not to treat it like a banana republic. Argentina is in the news too. Their rugby team lost to New Zealand’s rugby team. The government received a massive IMF loan (more than $50 billion!) and a nationwide search has begun to find an 11-year-old boy’s mobile phone which he lost while with his grandmother at the bank because the phone has photos and videos of his mother who recently died of cancer.

Women who changed the world A book of 40 crosswords puzzles that help students learn more about some of the women who changed the world in science, technology, the arts… from the USA to UK to New Zealand to Kenya to the People’s Republic of China… Contents: Authors 1 Authors 2 Film and theatre 1 Film and theatre 2 Leaders in sport Musicians and singers Political leaders 1 Political leaders 2 Science and technology Women in government Agatha Christie, Amelia Earhart, Angela Merkel Benazir Bhutto Carla del Ponte Catherine the Great Christine Lagarde Cleopatra Coco Chanel Eleanor Roosevelt Elizabeth I Elizabeth II Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Emmeline Pankhurst Florence Nightingale Golda Meir Helen Clark Helen Keller Hillary Clinton Indira Gandhi Joan of Arc Junko Tabei Margaret Thatcher Marie Curie Mother Teresa Oprah Winfrey Queen Victoria Rosalind Franklin Wangari Muta Maathai Wu Yi Cognitive effort = learning. In our years of experience in classrooms, we understand that learning is rehearsing. The more cognitive effort we give to a task, the faster we learn it. Whether it’s repeating a song’s lyrics, the spelling of a word, or the steps to solving mathematical tasks, the more cognitive effort the stronger (and the more permanent) the learning. Practising, rehearsing, repeating, reviewing, redoing. It’s that simple: the more cognitive effort, the better the learning. Crosswords demand coghnitive effort. Reading, thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and even handwriting skills will all improve using these crosswords.

The World News Crossword - September 23rd, 2018 - a crossword based on the events of last week’s news from around the world. There are 4 puzzles in this downloadable PDF document: (1) The World News Crossword, (2) a crossword about The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (from our book of Shakespeare Word Puzzles), (3) a crossword about Brazil (from our A World of Crosswords series), and (4) a crossword about Florence Nightingale (from our soon-to-be-released ‘Women who changed the world’ book). So, what happened in last week’s news? A tornado in Canada and an eruption in Mexico. Oktoberfest in Munich, a fire because of German army rockets, and a driver-less tram in Potsdam. A rowing boat is rescued just short of Scotland, a boat of migrants off Lebanon’s coast capsizes, and a ferry in Tanzania capsizes. Cholera in Zimbabwe and Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. India cancels talks with Pakistan. Pakistan asks China to be nicer to ethnic Muslims. And China opens an embassy in the Dominican Republic.

The World News Crossword - September 16th, 2018 - a crossword based on the events of last week’s news from around the world. There are 4 puzzles in this downloadable PDF document: (1) The World News Crossword, (2) a crossword on The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (from our book of Shakespeare Word Puzzles), (3) a crossword on Croatia (from our A World of Crosswords series), and (4) a crossword on Women in Science and Technology (from our soon-to-be-released ‘Women who changed the world’ book). So, what happened in last week’s news? A mega-hurricane. A malaria outbreak on Lombok Island. And an earthquake off the south-west of Australia. Needles in strawberries in Australia. Environmentalist in treehouses in Germany. And a whale in a stream in Madrid. London’s Mayor wants another Brexit referendum. Spain’s Prime Minister published his Ph.D. thesis online. Nigeria’s Finance Minister resigned because of forgery. And Italy’s Foreign Minister said African migrants are like slaves. Some Kenyans made a boat out of plastic rubbish collected from their beaches to highlight the problem of plastic pollution in the ocean.

**The World News Crossword - August 26th, 2018 **is a 6-page PDF document containing: (1) a crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) a search & cloze puzzle that explains the background of Venezuela’s current economic and human crisis, (3) a crossword all about Venezuela, and (4) a bonus puzzle from our book, ‘Nonsense Rhymes Crosswords’ (because it’s fun to do). All for just £2. **What happened in last week’s news? ** Australia appointed its 6th Prime Minister in 8 years and it rained in drought-stricken New South Wales and Queensland. Sweden’s Sami reindeer herders demanded government assistance to offset problems associated with this summer’s drought and Berliners were told to close their doors and windows to keep out smoke from forest fires. Venezuelans continued to cross the border to Peru, Brazil, and Colombia. Unvaccinated Venezuelans caused a measles epidemic in Brazil where measles had been eradicated. And speaking of measles, Johns Hopkins University researchers have said Russian bots and trolls have been spreading mis-information about measles vaccinations to cause trouble in USA. (FYI, measles vaccinations do not cause autism. Measles, on the other hand, can kill children and this is why most governments provide free vaccinations.) Procter & Gamble submitted applications to trademark text-speak such as FYI, LOL, and WTF. WTF! Meanwhile, back in Venezuela, the inflation rate has reached 18,000%, the government replaced the old bolivar with a new one (with 5 less zeros next to the numbers), hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans are emigrating, and there was a 7.3 earthquake off the north-west Venezuelan coast. This week, we’ve added 2 bonus puzzles to explain the reasons for Venezuelans’ troubles. All for just £2.

The World News Crossword - September 9th, 2018 is a 6-page downloadable PDF made up of 4 puzzles. (1) A crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) A search & close puzzle that gives more background to one of last week’s news stories - the Mauritius government’s case against Great Britain in the International Court of Justice regarding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, (3) A crossword about China, and (4) A crossword about Rosalind Franklin. This resource is quick and easy to download and store on a flash drive, ready to print and use in any middle or high school Social Studies or English lesson. It works best when the students work in small groups, soothed discuss the clues, share answers, and then discuss the stories in more depth, asking questions like, ‘What did Japan’s fishermen kill 50 minke whales? Why are elephants still being killed for their ivory? and Why is there still not peace in Syria and Yemen?’ A new World News Crossword is published every week so it can become a weekly lesson.

The World News Crossword - June 17th, 2018 is a 6 page PDF containing: A crossword based on last week’s news events, A Search and Cloze puzzle that helps explain the Kashmir conflict, Another Search and Cloze puzzle that helps explain the Yemen War, and A crossword all about Yemen. (Did you know there are just 70 Arabian leopards alive in the wild? And they’re all in Yemen.) So what happened last week? Raphael Nadal won the French Open for the 11th time. Boris Becker claimed diplomatic immunity in Central African Republic to avoid bankruptcy proceedings. About 700 immigrants were turned away from Italy but were allowed to land in Spain. An immigrant in New York was captured as he delivered pizza to a military base. FIFA announced the world cup will be hosted by USA, Canada, and Mexico (assuming they’re all still friends then). Russia beat Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the world cup opening match. Saudi Arabia’s military led a coalition of Arab countries in support of Yemen’s government, attacking the Yemen port city. And an 18th century Chinese vase found in someone’s attic sold for 16 million Euros.

The World News Crossword - July 29th, 2018 is a 6-page PDF document made up of 4 puzzles based on the events of last week’s news. It’s a quick and simple process to buy and download the resource and it can be stored on a flash drive ready for printing. All for just £2. What’s in this week’s document? (1) A crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) A search & cloze puzzle giving a little more detailed explanation of wildfires such as the ones occurring in California and some parts of Europe, (3) A crossword all about Cambodia, in the news this week for the flooding caused by a collapsed hydro-dam, and an election that is unlikely to have any effect because opposition and criticism have been prevented by the incumbent prime minister of 30+ years, and (3) A crossword all about climate change which was in the news again - a heatwave in Europe, wild fires in Greece and USA, flooding in Japan, and extreme monsoon rain in Myanmar. The puzzle usually takes a class about 30-45 minutes to complete, leaving some time for discussion on some of the more interesting news stories. The puzzle seems to work best when done in pairs or small groups, to generate discussion. The goal of course is to have students learning more about the world around them, and to prompt them to ask questions, especially ‘why…?’ What happened in last week’s news? Social media was in the news again. Facebook’s shares crashed. Belgium’s tourist board wrote to Mark Z complaining about the censorship policy was blocking famous paintings. A Kuwaiti make up artist used social media to whine that her maid was now entitled to…, wait for it…, one day’s leave per week. And the employer now isn’t allowed to retain the employee’s passport. The make up artist promptly lost sponsors Max Factor Arabia and Shiseido. And a US swimmer posted a photo of himself receiving an illegal ‘infusion’ and was then banned from competition for 14 months. Wildfires caused extensive property damage and killed many people in Greece and California. Flooding occurred in Japan, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. A Penn State Professor said this is the face of climate change. Elections were or will be held in Cambodia, Pakistan, and Mali. This resource, used on a weekly basis, is an excellent way to ensure your students’ are ‘internationally minded’ (a fundamental requirement of any of the IB’s 4 programmes).

The World News Crossword - August 5th, 2018 is a 6-page PDF document made up of 4 puzzles based on the events of last week’s news. It’s a quick and simple process to download the resource and it can be stored on a flash drive ready for printing. All for just £2. What’s in this week’s document? (1) A crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) A search & cloze puzzle giving a little more detailed explanation of Zimbabwe and the events leading to last week’s election, (3) A crossword all about Zimbabwe - where is it? What are its neighbouring countries? What are its lakes, mountains, and rivers? (3) A crossword all about India which was also in the news last week. The puzzle usually takes a class about 30-45 minutes to complete, leaving some time for discussion on some of the more interesting news stories. The puzzle seems to work best when done in pairs or small groups, to generate discussion. The goal of course is to have students learning more about the world around them, and to prompt them to ask questions, especially ‘why…?’ What happened last week? On Lombok (in Indonesia) about 500 stranded tourists were rescued after an earthquake, but then another very large earthquake struck about a week after the first, prompting. a tsunami warning for the region. Wildfires continued in California and Europe experienced a heatwave. Students in Bangladesh protested for better traffic and street safety. Evidence of a 2000 year old library was uncovered in Cologne. A plane crashed in Mexico. A helicopter crashed in Siberia. And a plane crashed in the Swiss Alps. A new government was elected in Zimbabwe and 6 people were killed in protests following the result. The boys who were rescued from the cave in Thailand returned home after their 9 days as novice Buddhist monks. And someone kidnapped a shark, disguised as a baby in a pram, from an aquarium in Texas.

In this week’s puzzles… (1) A crossword based on events in last week’s news. A search & cloze puzzle detailing Part 2 of the amazing rescue of the 12 boys and their football coach from the flooded cave in northern Thailand, A crossword about NATO, and there are no clues, and A crossword all about Belgium (which achieved 3rd place in the FIFA World Cup). In last week’s news… All twelve boys from the Wild Boars football team and their coach who were trapped in a cave in northern Thailand were rescued. The US president said NATO member countries aren’t contributing enough to NATO (even though countries don’t contribute anything). Britain’s Foreign Minister resigned because he didn’t like the state of Brexit negotiations. Nestlé products are banned from zoos in Melbourne and a man has taken Monsanto to court alleging its weed killer caused his cancer. George Clooney fell off his motor bike while in Sardinia. Justin Bieber got engaged, maybe. An American tourist shut down Vienna airport because of a live artillery shell in her luggage. Scorpions invaded Brazilian cities, sort of. And after 66 years, an Indian man finally cut his finger nails. Angelique Kerber and Novak Đoković won the Women’s and Men’s Singles at Wimbledon. France won the FIFA World Cup, but the most loved and most successful football team during the World Cup was The Wild Boars of Thailand.

The World News Crossword - June 24th, 2018 is a 6 page PDF containing: (1) A crossword based on last week’s news events, (2) A Search and Cloze puzzle that helps explain the causes and issues associated with immigration to the USA, (3) Another Search and Cloze puzzle that explains the FIFA World Cup tournament, and (4) A crossword all about Turkey. (Did you know Turkey’s border with Azerbaijan is just 18 kilometres long and the that whole border is a river?) So what happened last week? Well, speaking of Turkey, they had an election and almost 90% of eligible voters voted. There were blasts at political rallies in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. Syria’s army dropped more barrel bombs in the south of the country. A residential building in Germany exploded. Over 100,000 people protested in London, demanding another Brexit referendum. An Afghan asylum seeker on Nauru was flown to Australia for palliative care. The leader of Romania’s ruling party went to jail, guilty of corruption. Israel’s Prime Minister’s wife was charged with fraud. And New Zealand’s Prime Minister gave birth to a baby girl and women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to drive cars.

The World News Crossword is a downloadable PDF. It’s quick and simple to download, save onto a flash drive, and rint from when the time’s right. This week’s PDF contains: (1) A crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) A search and cloze puzzle based on modern day slavery in India (3) A crossword about India’s geography, and (4) A crossword from the soon-to-be-released book ‘Women who changed the world’ - a puzzle all about Indira Ghandi, India’s third Prime Minister. From last week’s news… Germany was eliminated from the FIFA World Cup. Prince William visited Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. New Guinea reported its first case of polio in 30 years. Turkey re-elected its President. Harley Davidson said it would move some production out of the US because of the tariffs imposed on imported steel. Canada imposed tariffs on US-made ketchup in response to US tariffs on Canadian-made steel. Samoa and Mumbai banned single-use plastic bags, cups, food containers, and drinking straws. India’s interior minister waa attacked on social media for receiving a kidney transplant from a Muslim. About 50 people were killed when a bus went off a mountain road in northern India. 12 Thai boys and their football coach were trapped in a flooded cave system for 9 days before being found by an international team of rescue personnel. It’s good to know about these things. It’s even better to discuss why these things happen and what may happen next - because it’s good for us to discuss what happens in the rest of the world and how it may affect us as well as how what we do might affect others.

The World News Crossword - July 8th, 2018 is a 6-page PDF that includes: a crossword based on events from last week’s news, a search & cloze puzzle that focuses on the background of one of last week’s stories (this week it’s the background story of the boys who have been trapped in the cave system in northern Thailand), a crossword about Thailand, and a crossword about Thailand’s neighbour and frequent subject of news stories, Myanmar. This resource is excellent for keeping students informed about the world’s current events. It takes about half an hour for students to complete the main crossword and the rest of a lesson to review (and discuss) the answers. It’s good for use in homeroom or PSHE lessons, or it’s excellent for a homework activity. I prefer to use the news puzzle as a small-group activity. The students then tend to discuss the events more, asking why and wanting to know more about many of the stories. So what happened last week? The Thai footballers and their coach, trapped in a flooded cave system dominated my week. I was checking my phone frequently, waiting for updates and imagining how I wold cope in that situation. A dive boat capsized off Phuket in Thailand and tourists were drowned. Flooding in Japan resulted in deaths and mass evacuations. A wildfire in California also resulted in evacuations. Police in the USA challenged the suitability of 2 novels on a high-school’s reading list. An American woman was attacked on social media for killing an elderly giraffe in South Africa. And 2 rhino poachers were eaten by lions, also in South Africa. And in Queensland, Australia, a possum was rescued by the RSPCA from a Nutella jar. Yes, really.

The World News Crossword - June 10th, 2018 is a action-packed teaching & learning resource to help students learn more about last week’s world news events. This week’s crossword… Water shortages in Australia and Iraq caused concerns. Plastic products were banned in both New Zealand and India. Someone left the G7 summit in a mess, but at least they pledged $3 billion to girls’ and women’s education. And there were protests in Amman, Jordan. And Ethiopia’s government announced it would agree to peace agreement with Eritrea. This week there is a backgrounder search & cloze puzzle that helps students learn more about volcanic eruptions - what are they, what causes them, and why are they so destructive? And another search & cloze puzzle to help explain the economic crisis in Jordan. And there’s a bonus crossword to help explain that peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea.