Budding Cruciverbalists at WTMA: Students Experiment with Writing Crosswords
By Lisa Gentile, Instructor, Story of the Middle Ages
During most live sessions in our Story of the Middle Ages class, we review the weekly readings and take a deeper dive into a particular event or historical figure. However, to mix it up over the year, we intersperse some group work, allowing students to engage with the material in different ways. SMAers enjoy working together in breakout rooms on various group activities, giving them a chance to get to know each other better. Sometimes, they clamor for it!
Our crossword puzzle activity is often a favorite. This year, we produced two puzzles based on readings about European kingdoms during the Age of Exploration. Students poured over two chapters to come up with words or phrases and clever clues. Not only did they review the reading in a fun way, but they also activated their critical thinking while devising clues whose answers are not so simple to figure out. There’s usually a realization that being a crossword writer, or cruciverbalist, is not as easy as it may seem. Writing relevant clues that do not give away too much is challenging, but the students found it enjoyable and engaging.
Both a memorization and critical thinking tool, writing crosswords is a fun method to review and solidify what students have already learned, because it requires them to extract what they think are the most essential details from their readings. Once I have enhanced, sorted, merged, and compiled all the suggested entries and clues and put them into a crossword generator, students are asked to complete the puzzles. While one student admitted, “I was stumped,” another remarked, “It took some thinking to find the right word, but it was a great crossword.” Some found completing the puzzles “required a lot of thinking,” “pretty hard,” and “challenging,” yet most exclaimed they were fun to make and to solve.
Age of Exploration Crosswords
Think you know the Age of Exploration? Test yourself with these student-made crosswords. The answer keys are at the end of this post.
Answer Keys
Answer Key to SMA Crossword #1
Answer Key to SMA Crossword #2