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Crosswords on frenchteacher

I have a considerable number of crosswords on frenchteacher.net, most of them based on translating individual words. The ones I like most, however, are gapfill-based crosswords since they require greater comprehension skill and place words in context. Students get greater input in this fashion which should lead to more acquisition. Crosswords can also develop grammatical skill, of course, like the example one below which you are welcome to use. It is from the Y10-11 section of the website and would suit reasonably able students between Y10 and Y12 (intermediate to high intermediate).

I make my crosswords using the excellent and free AmoredePenguin site. You can store crosswords on the site for a certain period or download them for unlimited use, including commercial. Very generous.

It is easy to adapt crosswords for less able students by writing in some missing letters, or even writing the answers as a list on a separate sheet from which students can choose. Teachers could also ask students to translate the clues including the missing words.

I never tried this, but you could read aloud answers and get students to identify the clue they should appear in before inserting the answer. This would keep all students working at the same pace, if that is what you prefer. In this case a minor element of listening would be involved, allowing students to develop their sound-orthography sense.



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