Interactive+Crossword


 * Interactive Crossword Puzzle**

I wrote each book title (shortened some of them) on index cards; one letter per card. For example, Homer P. Figg had ten index cards with the letters H, O, M, E, R, P, F, I, G, and G. I created a set of 20 for each question round, one per team. When the team entered the room, they were given a set of 20 titles and told to create a crossword puzzle. The would earn 10 points per title they were able to use. I wanted to encourage them to make as many matches as possible. For example, HOMER P. FIGG could have joined with OLIVER OLSON and MAGIC THIEF.

This game was one of their favorites. Everyone was busy, everyone could play regardless of their knowledge of the book, and everyone communicated and worked with one another to see the possible matches.

1. Make sure you have enough packets of titles for each team playing. The teachers who supervised this question round were great about having the students pick up the cards from the floor but didn't have enough time to get all of the packets back together for the next team. 2. Make sure the teams have enough room to spread out. We cleared away the desks in each classroom. 3. Shorten the book titles. Use Homer P. Figg instead of Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg. 4. Cut the list of books to 10 titles (or how many students you have on a team so that every player has a chance to participate). 20 titles is too many to complete in 15 minutes.  I am trying this game this week and I thought it might help to color code the book titles. That way, they could be picked up easily and the kids could create the crossword in the alloted time. I will let you know if this works. **Another option for the Game: ** Create the required number of index card letters for each book title. Put all of the letters for all of the book titles in a pile on the floor. Give each team a list of book titles they must create from the pile of index cards. 10 points for each complete book title. Students will have to cooperate with each other to succeed. This also helps with the time since you won't need complete sets of book titles together for the next team.
 * Here are a couple of suggestions to make this round more successful:**