I'm a teacher too.
All of these resources are simple and quick to download. They can be stored on a flashdrive, attached to a keyring and then they live in your pocket as easy and as ready to use as a hanky when a sneeze is coming on.
Try the Nonsense Rhymes Crosswords. If you like Dr Seuss, you'll love these (and so will your students). The World News Crossword is published every Sunday evening. It's prefect for prompting discussion about current events.
I'm a teacher too.
All of these resources are simple and quick to download. They can be stored on a flashdrive, attached to a keyring and then they live in your pocket as easy and as ready to use as a hanky when a sneeze is coming on.
Try the Nonsense Rhymes Crosswords. If you like Dr Seuss, you'll love these (and so will your students). The World News Crossword is published every Sunday evening. It's prefect for prompting discussion about current events.
Where on Earth? (Book 1)
TEN crossword puzzles (and few extras as freebies). Download them and put them onto a flash drive on your keyring. That's TEN very cool and interesting and educational lessons in your pocket.
An excellent small group activity, homework, or even for the speedy kids who finish an activity early. Very very good for the kids with messy handwriting. Or those with concentration issues.
A simple pdf booklet with some simple and fun crosswords about the world's countries, capitals, well known landmarks (and food).
It's quick to download. Store it on a flash drive and have some simple, easy to administer resources at hand in case you have a substitute lesson or a bunch of rowdy kids in your classroom at lunchtime or you're near the end of a unit and waiting for that other class to catch up or a bazillion other situations where you want to occupy the students with a good, simple learning activity.
Where do they eat haggis? Where's Vienna? What's the capital of South Africa? Who said Rabat? That's Morocco. Is it one r or two? Morocco... I was on holiday there once and... oh, the food. Food? Who said Lebanon? Baklava? Sushi? That's from Vietnam, right? Where's Vietnam? Is there a map in the room? A globe? What's Uluru? Is it a mountain in New Zealand? Oops, that might start an argument in the staffroom. Can we get back to the food? Tiramisu and pain au raisin - at the same time? Where to in the next holiday? Hvar? Dubrovnik? Mauritius? Banff National Park? Christchurch? Koh Samui? Colombo?
There are a few extra puzzles just for fun too. Nonsense Rhymes Crosswords... if you like Dr Seuss, you'll love these. They're just fun to do on the bus on the way home from school.
Climate Change Crosswords is a pdf document containing 5 crosswords that focus on the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change - and what we can do about it.
There isa bonus puzzle about the Amazon Basin - perhaps the most significant region in terms of climate change. There's another crossword on The Might Mi__i__i__i River. (And then some more on Africa, Asia and Europe - for a rainy day.)
Climate change is real, it’s here, and it’s getting worse, but there’s hope. That’s the message of these crosswords.
Climate change is happening because of global warming which is happening because humans burn too much fossil fuel, cut down way too many trees, use cars instead of bicycles, throw away too much food, and farm too many animals.
The glaciers are retreating. The ocean is warming. The polar ice masses are melting. The sea level is rising. More extreme weather events are occuring. And the worst affected are the poorest people because they tend to live near the edges of rivers and the sea.
What can we do about it? Each puzzle includes suggestions.
Hopefully these crosswords educate students about what is happening to the earth’s climate and its people. Hopefully they’ll learn why it’s happening and how climate change can be stopped, or mitigated.
There’s something a little sneaky and tricky about crosswords. Kids feel compelled to finish them. Try them.
The World News Crossword (May 21st 2017) is a simple crossword based on last week's news events.
This week there are THREE BONUS puzzles (The Mighty Mississippi, USA's states, and a puzzle all about Climate Change).
These puzzles are engaging and interesting learning activities. The World News Crossword enthuses students to discuss news events around the world. The US president met Turkey's president and it didn't go so well. The US president then flew to Saudi Arabia where he'll attend a meeting also attended by a leader wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Why did North Korea's leader fire another missile? The leader in the Philippines banned cigarette smoking in public. France inaugurated its president and he flew first to meet Germany's chancellor and then to meet French troops in Africa. And Ukraine's president banned the country's two most popular social media sites.
The News puzzle can be used with young or old students, individually or in small groups, in class or for homework. The three bonus puzzles can be used when substituting for absent colleagues or during rainy lunch times.
A set of 5 crosswords supporting the KS3 Geography Geomorpholgical Processes topic (Rocks, Weathering, Erosion, Rivers, and Coastlines).
It's a pdf document so it's quick and simple to download and print.
An excellent group or individual activity, revision/reinforcement,
in-class or for homework. Answers included.
(3 bonus puzzles included that are ideal for substitution lessons.)
The World News Crossword is a simple PDF that can be downloaded and printed in just a few minutes. It's a simple activity suitable for PSHE, English, Geography, Economics...
Crosswords are good for supporting language learning, for research skills, for handwriting, for logic and thinking, for collaboration and team work...
And students will learn about what happened around the world last week... Somalia requested an arms embargo be lifted but at the same time about 6 million Somalian people are facing food and water shortages because of a drought. The US is close to finalising a $US100 million arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Rory McIlroy signed a $US100 million equipment deal and Sergio Garcia hit a hole in one in the same tournament that another golfer hit three tee shots into the water for a sextuple-bogey. The DRC announced an Ebola outbreak and Brazil announced the end of its Zika virus crisis. There was a worldwide cyber-attack on hospitals. The Russian Foreign Minister visited the White House and the president sacked the FBI’s director. Russian police arrested 11 people for reading the Russian constitution aloud in Red Square. They also arrested a man for filming himself playing Pokemon Go inside a church. Germany’s economy grew significantly in the last quarter. China announced a $US100 billion infrastructure plan to boost economic growth in Asia. Solar power is at a record low price in India and Dutch officials opened a new wind farm in the North Sea. The US will definitely lose all of its glaciers in the next few decades (not counting Alaska’s glaciers of course). The US secretary of state signed a commitment to protect the Arctic and to support scientific research into climate change. Paris’ Gare du Nord was evacuated and small bomb exploded in Rome. Emmanuel Macron won France’s presidential election. A mathematician and a bullfighter are candidates for his party’s general election. The US Air Force secret unmanned space plane landed after more than 700 days in space. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone because it’s a secret.)
Of course, this activity is less about what happened and more about why... Why is China aiming to boost the region's economies? Why did Emmanuel Macron win with such a large majority? Why will the US' glaciers all be gone soon? Let the students chat about the puzzle's clues and see where the discussion goes.
As always there are some bonus puzzles for the students who finish early, for students in a lesson that you have to substitute for, or just for fun during a rainy lunchtime... This week the bonus puzzles are about the Pacific countries, Europe, and well-known world landmarks.
Nonsense Rhymes Crosswords 2 is made up of fun rhymes, for example ‘A koala’s no failure, at home in... [Australia]’, ‘I knew a banker, from Sri... [Lanka]’, and ‘The can-can is a dance, performed in... [France]’.
These crosswords are perfect for reinforcing phonemic awareness.
Crosswords only work when we spell the words correctly (and neatly). Students learn something rather old- fashioned - spelling. They’ll spend time reading very carefully and thinking about correct spellings - and they’ll want to get it right because there’s something in our psychology that compels us to start them and then finish them. Crosswords also require neat handwriting.
These puzzles have also been very effective with students who struggle to concentrate.
It’s normal for students to compete with each other and it’s normal for them to beg for the answer to 23 Across before they leave for home.
Best of all, students ask for more of them. And when they do that, they’re really asking for more reading and writing and spelling time. And how much more beautiful can a teaching day get than that?
This is resource is made up of 5 nonsense rhymes crosswords (and two extra crosswords that will be fun and useful to store away in your back pocket for a substitute lesson). It's a simple PDF document so it's quick and easy to download and then print.
Nonsense Rhymes Crosswords are all made up of fun rhymes, for example ‘If your car starts to splutter, feed it peanut... [butter], and ‘But that’s absurd, you’re not a... [bird], and ‘I like to have mustard, with my chocolate... [custard] and ‘Does a tuna wish, to swim like a...’ [fish]. These crosswords are perfect for reinforcing phonemic awareness.
Crosswords only work when we spell the words correctly (and neatly). Students learn something rather old-fashioned - spelling. They’ll spend time reading very carefully and thinking about correct spellings - and they’ll want to get it right because there’s something in our psychology that compels us to start them and then finish them. Crosswords also require neat handwriting.
These puzzles have also been very effective with students who struggle to concentrate.
It’s normal for students to compete with each other and it’s normal for them to beg for the answer to 23 Across before they leave for home.
Best of all, students ask for more of them. And when they do that, they’re really asking for more reading and writing and spelling time. And how much more beautiful can a teaching day get than that?
This resource is made up of 5 Nonsense Rhymes Crosswords (and a few more just for fun). It's a PDF document so it's quick to download and print.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative home room period or even a substitution lesson when the absent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events.
In this week's puzzle... protest marches in Venezuela against economic failure and all around the world in support of science. No blue lights on cars in India, no food stalls on Bangkok streets and no dogs and cats to be eaten in Taiwan. Presidential elections in France and an early election in Britain. A national strike in French Guiana and a murder in the Maldives and very disrespectful behaviour at the tennis. And North Korea created a lot of news last week too. It was an interesting week.
The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students.
There are 2 BONUS puzzles: one is about Asia's countries and capitals and the other is about Africa.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative home room period or even a substitution lesson when the absent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events.
In this week's puzzle... Good Lord, someone impersonated Lorde. Natural disasters in Colombia and Australia. South Korea's ex-president was arrested and a sunken ferry was raised. China has set up bases in the South China Sea. Japan's whaling fleet killed 300 whales in the Antarctic Ocean. Someone stole a huge gold Canadian coin (in Berlin). Yes, it was a strange week around the world.
And of course the real reason for these crosswords is to prompt the students to ask WHY these events happened. Why Brexit? Why were 20 people killed a t a shrine in Pakistan? Why did a Singaporean couple starve their employee? Why are the Canadians legalising recreational marijuana use? Or maybe they'll ask... where is Peru, and South Sudan, and Tanzania? (So have a globe or a world map handy for even more discussion.)
The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students.
There are 2 BONUS puzzles: one is about Africa's countries and capitals and the other is about New Zealand.
This is a simple crossword activity aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in our world.
Download and then print this easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative home room period or even a substitution lesson when the absent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. (You might even give them colleagues to keep them happy during staff meetings - but don't let the bosses catch you!)
In this week's puzzle... Obamacare survived. Somali pirates released a Sri Lankan ship and crew. An avalanche in Japan and a cyclone in Queensland. New Zealanders submitted a petition to protest against water being sold to China, India, and the Middle East. Britain was attacked by a lone terrorist. And Vladimir told Marine that Russia won't meddle in France's presidential election.
Of course the real value of this crossword is the discussion it'll generate... Why did these things happen? Why, of all the things that happened in the world, were these the events reported in the news? The wording of these news events is interesting too; is there any bias in the wording?
The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students.
There are two BONUS puzzles that focus on the United Kingdom's history and geography. Good for KS3 as well as older classes.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative home room period or even a substitution lesson when the absent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. (You might even give them colleagues to keep them happy during staff meetings - but don't let the bosses catch you!)
In this week's puzzle... The US made a verbal move against North Korea, the South Korea made a move without her dogs, and Nato made a move to Estonia. In Australia, because someone dared him, an 18 year old jumped into a stream and was attacked by a crocodile. In New Zealand the police shot a bomb sniffer dog at Auckland airport. And in India, a firebrand Hindu priest was appointed to govern the most populous state.
And of course the real reason for these crosswords is to prompt the students to ask why... Why did Norway's Sami people get a large pension fund to sell off investments in a US company? Why did a Chinese court punish a policeman and why did the European Parliament punish that Policy MEP and why did France's far-right party expel one of its officials - and why did the Turkish president blame the Dutch for the 1985 Srebrenica massacre? (And was he right?)
The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students.
There are three BONUS puzzles that focus on North America, Central America, and South America.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what happened in their world last week.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next English, Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative homeroom period or even a substitution lesson when the absent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events.
The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students.
It's less bout the puzzle's clues and answers and more about the questions and discussion that result from them. For example... What is match-fixing? Why would people protest against China building a port in Sri Lanka. Where is Ghana? Why kill the ducks in France? Why would Israel withhold money from its annual United Nations dues? Where is Fort Lauderdale? Where are Chad and Libya? What is the Turner Prize awarded for? Where is Cueta? Why is there a civil war in Syria? Where is Abuja? Why would parents allow their children to work in a brick kiln? What are bison? Could a palace in Sweden be haunted by a ghost? Really? Why replace workers with an AI system? What’s AI? Where is Guantánamo Bay? What does Germany have to do with Namibia?
As a bonus, there are three more puzzles... European capitals, Asian capitals, and African capitals. Because it might be good if they know where these countries and their capital cities are. It's a bit of fun, and educational of course, but watch closely and you'll see how crosswords can help students improve their handwriting.
There's a new puzzle created every week, so don't forget to come back every Monday morning for another simple and easy and very useful learning activity.
Two crosswords based on the news events of 2016.
As a class activity, expect each of the se puzzles to take about 30-45 minutes. They work best with groups of 2-3 students working in teams. Let them use their smartphones and call it a collaborative research project.
Hurricane Matthew caused death and destruction on the Florida coast. Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Syrian war moved into its sixth year and last year alone about 4 million Syrians left their home country. Zimbabwe's economy deteriorated. Students in South Africa protested against tuition fees. And the Ethiopia-Djibouti electric railway line opened. India demonetised its 500 and 1000 rupee notes and the UK voted to leave the EU. Brazil hosted the Summer Olympics and the Paralympics and the Brazilian government impeached its president. Terrorists attacked in Berlin, Nice, Istanbul, and Brussels.
Of course, the real value of these crosswords is the discussion that results from the clues and answers. Why was Bob Dylan awarded a prize for literature when he's a song writer? Are songs literature? Why did India demonetise the 500 and 1000 rupee notes? Were there more big earthquakes in 2016 than normal? What causes earthquakes? What are gravitational waves and why was a rocket launched to explore Mars? Why was the Malaysian Airlines plane shot down as it flew over Ukraine? Why is the UK leaving the EU? What is a referendum and why don't governments use them more often? If South Africa's students want to attend university for free, why did they trash their universities? Why did China and USA finally sign the Paris climate change deal (or maybe we should ask, What took them so long?)
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics, Geography, Business, or PSHE lesson. The puzzles are excellent for a lively and informative home room period or even a substitution lesson when the ascent colleague hasn't left enough work. You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events.
The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students.
In this week's puzzle… Bill English became New Zealand’s new prime minister and a New Zealand marathon runner completed 237 holes of golf in 12 hours.
South Korea’s president was impeached, Chinese police put down a protest, and Britain wants less international students, maybe.
The Solomon Islands experienced two very large earthquakes and so did Croatia.
The price of oil increased. Reindeer are getting smaller, and a near-complete dinosaur skeleton sold for about €1 million. A report declared that the Great Barrier Reef will die soon, an Australian man’s house was mistakenly demolished when builders went to the wrong address, but a Malaysian was named the ‘World's Funniest Person’.
An RAF commander said the RAF should consider recruiting ‘18- and 19-year-olds straight out of the PlayStation bedroom’ to operate drones, a Pakistani Army officer returned to Sandhurst, a PIA plane exploded when it returned to Islamabad, and Iran bought a lot of planes from Boeing. Qantas announced what will be the longest flight, from Perth to London, starting in March 2018 and the Swiss started using the world’s longest train tunnel.
As a bonus, there's another crossword that asks students about the place sin last week's news... India, Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Solomon Islands, Venezuela... And there are two more puzzles... one asks students to identify the capitals of American countries (Belize, Canada, Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil...), and another puzzle is called, 'They go together like...' fish &..., left &..., right &..., bat &..., school &... It's a bit of fun, but watch closely and you'll see how crosswords can help students to improve their handwriting.
There's a new puzzle created every week, so don't forget to come back every Monday morning for another simple and easy and very useful learning activity.
What happened in our world? December 5th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics or Geography or Business lesson, PSHE lesson, home room period, substitution lesson... You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students. Crosswords are effective practice activity for helping students with problematic handwriting.
In this week's puzzle… The Chinese shelved a plan for a new hydro dam. A copper mine in Poland collapsed. A plane crashed in South America. Nico Rosberg retired from Formula One racing and snow fell in Hawaii. The British and Polish prime ministers discussed Polish language lessons in British schools. South Korea's president offered to resign and Austria voted for a new president again. The Australians agreed to a backpacker tax and the Japanese police tried to get elderly drivers to exchange their driving licences for cheap lunches. Yes, it was a strange week around the world.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world. Why does a Yemeni man who was detained in Guantanamo Prison have to now live in Cape Verde? Why would a cruise liner discharge oily sludge into the ocean? And why did the Netherlands and Belgium agree to swap some land?
As a bonus, there's another crossword that asks students to identify some food. Perhaps they'll be inspired to eat healthier lunches after doing this crossword.Or perhaps they'll ask, 'What's strudel? What did Marie Antoinette have to do with cake? What food did the Earl of Sandwich name? And did Cinderella really go to the ball in a pumpkin?
There's a new puzzle created every week, so don't forget to come back every Monday morning for this simple and easy and very useful learning activity.
What happened in our world? November 28th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics or Geography or Business lesson, PSHE lesson, home room period, substitution lesson... You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students. Crosswords are effective practice activity for helping students with problematic handwriting.
In this week's puzzle… The Ugandan police arrested a king, Egyptian archaeologists discovered a 5000 year old city and the Moroccan state television advised women on how to hide the effects of domestic violence with make up. The Indian minster of women's affairs said the news of rape and sexual violence is overstated by the media and is harming tourism. There is a drought in Madagascar and snow in Tokyo. Putin gave Steven Seagal a Russian passport.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world. Why would a Chinese firm pay over a billion Euros for a website that compares the price of air tickets? Was Fidel Castro a great leader or a tyrant and a dictator? Was the earthquake off Costa Rica related to the New Zealand earthquake? Why would someone steal a baby monkey from a Sydney zoo? Is Formula One car racing a sport?
As a bonus, there's another crossword that asks students to name the capital city of the countries that were referred to in last week's news.
What happened in our world? November 21st, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events.
Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics or Geography or Business lesson, PSHE lesson, home room period, substitution lesson... You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students. Crosswords are effective practice activity for helping students with problematic handwriting.
In this week's puzzle… What did Boris say about prosecco? The Italian prime minister said he'll resign if... The German Chancellor said she will stand for re-election. A train derailed in Uttar Pradesh. A helicopter crashed in Rio de Janeiro. Andy beat Novak again. Slovakia declared access to clean drinking water a human right. A puggle was born in Sydney. (A what?) Two frozen moose were found in Alaska.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world. Why would moose freeze? Why would Russia leave the International Criminal Court? Why would we spend $11 billion on a weather satellite?
As a bonus, there are TWO more crosswords about well-known people such as Angela Merkel, Amelia Earhart, Florence Nightingale, and Cleopatra.
What happened in our world? November 14th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events.
Use the crosswords in your home-room class, in subject lessons, in substitution lessons, in lunchtime or after school clubs, or even in the staffroom (during a staff meeting). See which department's teachers are the smartest.
In this week's puzzle… A massive earthquake hit New Zealand. Scuba divers rescued. Nimrud retaken by the Iraqi Army. The Germans remembered, the British remembered, and the French remembered. Some of the people detained on Manus Island will be relocated to the US.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world. What causes earthquakes? Why was there a second peace deal in Colombia? What was the story behind ISIS and Nimrud? Why have people been detained on Manus Island? Why were the Germans, the British, and the French all remembering last week?
As a bonus, there are TWO more crosswords. One asks students to identify countries' capitals and the other bonus puzzle asks students about well-known landmarks like the Great Wall of China, The Arc de Triomphe, and the Burj Khalifa.
What happened in our world? November 7th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events.
Use the crosswords in your home-room class, in subject lessons, in substitution lessons, in lunchtime or after school clubs, or even in the staffroom (during a staff meeting). See which department's teachers are the smartest.
In this week's puzzle… The Peruvians released baby turtles into the Amazon region and two Australians stood on a turtle and posted their selfie on the internet. Elsewhere in Australia a Danish tourist slipped, few, and landed on the back of a crocodile. And it bit him. Vladimir Putin unveiled a statue of... St Vladimir. The government closed schools in Delhi because of air pollution, cigarettes were declared the number one cause of non-contagious disease deaths and drug-resistant tuberculosis is far more widespread in Nigeria than previously thought. Egypt floated its currency and increased the price of energy. Canada's spy agency kept data on non-threatening citizens, their military investigated a mysterious pinging sound in the Arctic, and a diver found an old bomb. See, there was more in the news than Donald You-Know-Who.
This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world. How did tuberculosis become drug-resistant? Why aren't cigarettes illegal if they're so bad? Why did Britain's pound lose value and then regain it at the end of the week?
As a bonus, there are TWO more crosswords. One asks students to identify the country of origin of some unique things - such as the rouble, the Urdu language, the RCMP, and kangaroos. The other puzzle is for the Economics teacher (or for when you have to supervise an Economics class).
What happened in our world? October 31st, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events.
Use the crosswords in your home-room class, in subject lessons, in substitution lessons, in lunchtime or after school clubs, or even in the staffroom (during a staff meeting if you dare). See which department's teachers are the smartest.
In this week's puzzle… Another severe earthquake in Italy. Three astronauts touched down in Kazakhstan. Police fired tear gas in Islamabad. An American Airlines plane caught fire in Chicago. Two London-bound trains were delayed because of a souvenir. And a Russian blogger may go to jail for five years for playing 'that game' in a church.
These are simple crosswords aiming to encourage our students to ask about what's happening in their world. Why did Prince Charles talk about soil? Why did the Saudis bomb a Yemeni prison? Why did the Croats and Slovenes feel an earthquake and why were a famous Italian poet's manuscripts moved to Bologna? What's wrong with WhatsApp giving users' information to Facebook?
As a bonus, there are TWO more crosswords. One asks students to identify the countries in which well-known landmarks are located. Where are Ben Nevis, K2, The Eiffel Tower, the Brandenburg Gate, The Great Barrier Reef, and Machu Picchu? The other bonus puzzle is for the scientists and asks students simple questions about physics, biology, chemistry, a little about the history of science.