How to make crosswords, word searches and bingo for class
Vocabulary puzzles turn a word list into an activity. This guide covers how to choose words and write clues, how grid size and direction settings change difficulty, and how to run each game in a lesson.
The short version
- Write your word list from the unit, one word or phrase per line.
- Choose the puzzle: crossword for definitions, word search for spelling recognition, bingo for whole-class games.
- Set the difficulty using grid size and directions, or the number of words.
- Print the puzzle and the answer key.
Skip the arithmetic. The free Crossword Puzzle Maker does this for you, shows the formula and the working with your own numbers, and runs in your browser - nothing you type is uploaded. Also useful: Word Search Maker, Bingo Card Generator.
Choosing the words
Use 8 to 20 words from one topic. Related words share letters, which helps a crossword interlock; very short words and words with rare letters (Q, X, Z) are hard to fit. Use words your class already met, since puzzles are best for retrieval practice rather than first teaching.
Crosswords: answers and clues
Write each answer followed by its clue: PLANET - Earth is one. Good clues are short, keep to the same part of speech as the answer and test understanding rather than spelling alone. A crossword is built by placing the longest word first, then adding each word where it crosses an existing letter without touching other words side by side; trying many layouts and keeping the best gives a compact grid.
Word searches: grid size and difficulty
| Audience | Grid | Directions |
|---|---|---|
| Younger children | 10 × 10 | across and down only, 6 to 8 short words |
| Middle years | 12 × 12 to 14 × 14 | add diagonals |
| Older students | 16 × 16 or bigger | diagonals and backwards |
As a rule of thumb, the letters of all your words should fill under half the grid. If a word is left out, make the grid bigger.
Bingo
Put key terms on cards and read out the definitions, so students must recognise the term. With a 5 × 5 card and a free centre, each card uses 24 words, so a list of about 30 to 40 gives cards that differ from each other. Use the shuffled caller's list and tick off each call so you can verify a winner quickly. Number bingo uses the 75-ball format: B 1-15, I 16-30, N 31-45, G 46-60, O 61-75.
Running them
- Give the crossword as pairs work and share answers after 10 minutes.
- Use the word search as an early-finisher task: ask students to write a sentence for each word they find.
- Use bingo for the last 10 minutes of a review lesson.
- Keep the answer key for yourself; print it on its own page.