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best practices

11/8/2016

9 Comments

 
Picture
7 Best Ways to Use Grammar Crosswords
​in the ELT Classroom
                       
​                          by Robert Dobie
​No matter what their language background,
​most students are familiar with crosswords. 

They can signal a fun break from the usual routine
of your class – and at the same time act as a
​valuable learning tool. 
​
​Below are seven practical tips ‘n’ tricks for using
them with your learners.

1.  Make the crossword easier by allowing your learners
to use reference materials.  For example, if they are
completing an irregular past tense crossword, consider
allowing them to use a grammar chart with a list of past
​tense verbs.

 
2.  Make the crossword easier by helping your learners with
all the ‘Across’ words.  Then, let them complete all the
‘Down’ words on their own.

 
3.  Make the crossword easier by acting out the clues. 
For example, with Present Continuous Crossword clue
#4 Across (‘I’m … a ball at the park.), you can tap into your
inner actor and mime the word ‘kicking’.

 
4.  Make the crossword easier by writing all the answers
​(or perhaps just the ‘Across’ words) on the board – but be sure
to write them in random order.

 
5.  Make the crossword into a competitive game by
enlarging and printing out two copies of it to paste on
opposite sides of the classroom.  ‘Team A’ is responsible
for completing all the ‘Across’ words, while ‘Team B’ tries
to complete all the ‘Down’ words.  And, yes, team members
may run over to the other team’s crossword to ‘steal’ looks
at their progress (this will offer letter clues for their own
team)!  The first team to finish is the winner.

 
6. Checking answers Project the answers if you have a
projector, and let your learners check their own work. 
Otherwise, print out a few crossword answer keys and let your learners check their answers in small groups.  Quickly writing them down on the board under an ‘Across’ column and a ‘Down’ column is another possibility - I've tried that - but it's a lot of extra work for you.  Checking answers verbally will use up too much valuable class time.

 
7. Finally, don’t forget to set a reasonable time limit for a
crossword activity (about 15-20 minutes for a typical
grammar crossword on this site).  It’s not advisable to wait
for every single one of your learners to finish, especially when
a few of them may never get the correct answer to that
​last difficult ‘Down’ or 'Across' word.



Comparatives Crossword
​
(CEFR A1 to B1)
Numbers Crossword
(CEFR A1)
Past Simple Crossword
​(CEFR A1 to A2)
Past Simple Crossword - with sentence clues
​
(CEFR A1 to A2) 
Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns
with Subject & Object Pronouns Crossword

(CEFR A1 to A2)
Present Continuous Crossword
​
(A1 to A2)
Present Perfect Crossword
​
(CEFR A2 to B1)
Present Perfect Crossword - with sentences clues
​
(CEFR A2 to B1)
Present Simple Crossword
​(CEFR A1 to A2)
Thank you for visiting my first blog post!

​Check back each month for more '100 Best Practices ​with All Things Grammar'.  ​
​Next time:
'6 Best Ways to Use Grammar Quizzes'
9 Comments
katia
3/27/2017 03:43:58 pm

thanks for sharing :) good job!

Reply
Robert link
4/4/2017 03:17:48 am

Thank you, Katia!

Reply
ann link
4/4/2017 01:51:05 am

Hi Robert,

Just to let you know that we’ve shortlisted this blog post for this month’s TeachingEnglish blog award and I’ll be putting up a post about it on Friday’s TeachingEnglish Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TeachingEnglish.BritishCouncil, if you’d like to check there for comments.

Best,
Ann

Reply
Robert Dobie link
4/4/2017 03:22:11 am

Hi Ann

Big smile! Thank you! :)

Reply
Zuo, Chong-zhen
8/2/2017 06:58:23 pm

Mr. Dobie,

It's amazing to know that you had been to Taiwan 29 years ago as I drop by your website for searching more sources for teaching and learning process. Deeply appreciate all of your sharing and teaching experience and that help me a lot when I learn how to teach English to children and approve my own level of English as well. Thanks! :)

Reply
Pim Sonnenberg link
2/1/2018 06:50:11 am

Dear Robert:
Thank you for making all these materials available to to other teachers!
I found this page through a fellow teacher.
I have a Facebook page to help students make "reading miles" by authentic news articles. It is completely free to use as well.

Greetings, Mr. Sonnenberg.

Reply
Hector
7/11/2018 10:12:34 am

Soy de Guatemala, este material ha facilitado mi aprendizaje de inglés, aun soy principiante pero con esta pagina sė que será mucho mejor y más divertido. Mil gracias por éstos recursos.

Reply
Maria Graciana
6/30/2019 06:56:43 pm

Hi Robert!
Just a quick note to thank you for your time and dedication to help us, fellow teachers, make our classes more time efficient and fun. These materials are really focused and helpful for me and they look good too! Besides, reading about the different ways to use them is enlightening!
Muchas gracias!

Reply
Winnie link
3/1/2021 03:19:23 pm

Greaat post

Reply



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    Author

    Originally from Canada, Robert first began teaching English in 1988 in Taiwan.  Later, he traveled to the UK (in 1998) to study ELT materials design at the University of Leeds as part of his M.Ed./TESOL.

    He has taught in Taiwan, South Korea, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates.
    ​  

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