Crossword ForgeCrossword ForgeKindergartners are just learning to read and recognize words. A word search activity can be a great way for them to practice many skills including the following:
Unfortunately traditional word searches can be much too difficult for children in kindergarten, and could lead them to get frustrated instead of having fun. With Crossword Forge you have the flexibility to make them simple enough for a kindergartner. We will explore how to do that in this tutorial.
Overview: To make the puzzle easier we are going to:
First Launch Crossword Forge or if it is already started begin a new puzzle. Switch to the puzzle tab. It is towards the upper right of the main window. Select "Word Search" as the puzzle type. In the options area uncheck "Allow diagonal words" and leave the rest of the options with their original values (Show = "word bank", "scramble words in word bank" = off. "Allow diagonal words" = off, "allow reversed words" = off). At this point we have already accomplished goal #4.
At this point we will add some words just so that we can see some progress as we move along. Switch back to the "Clues" tab. Select the "Answer" field, here is where we will be entering the words. Type "ant". Press the "Next" button or press the "return/enter" key on your keyboard. Press the "tab" key to skip past the "Clue" field (we won't be using it for this tutorial). You should at this point be in the Answer field again for word #2. Type "big". Press the "return/enter" key followed by "tab" to get to word #3. Repeat this process to add "car", "dog", "eat", and "fly". Press Make Puzzle. At this point we accomplished goal #5. The words are great but the puzzle is too big for our kids. We will fix that in the next step. Before we go on, lets increase our word list font size a bit. In the font size list choose "36".
Now switch to the "Advanced" tab. Set the controls as follows: "Desired Block Size" = 100, "Puzzle Width" = 5, "Puzzle Height" = 5. You may notice that the puzzle in the preview area looks too big, this is because we haven't re-made the puzzle yet. Press the "Make Puzzle" button to fix this. We just accomplished goals #1 and #2.
(Optional) You may want to just concentrate on a subset of the alphabet for this exercice. If so we will need to customize the letter set for our word search. If you aren't already in the "Advanced" tab switch there now. From the Language pop-up select the last item which should read "Customize...". In the new dialog that appears press the "+" button in the upper left to add a new language. A new language will appear at the bottom of the list called "New Language". Change the name of the language to "English A-F". Now in the Alphabet field for this language delete all the letters after F so that the field reads "ABCDEF". Close the dialog by pressing OK. From within the main window's "Advanced" tab select the new language you just created called "English A-F", it should be the last entry. You should see the letters of the grid change to reflect your reduced alphabet. We have just accomplished goal #3.
At this point the puzzle is complete, but the title is still "Untitled Puzzle" go to the "Title" tab and erase all the text for the "Primary" title and "Secondary" title, or enter a title to your liking. To print this puzzle go to the "File" menu and choose "Print". Follow the prompts. You now have a puzzle for your kindergartners.
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