Name ___________________________

TRICKY NOUNS
Unusual Plural Nouns

7 8

10 11 12 13

14 15

16 17

18

19

ACROSS DOWN

2 Loaf 1 Foot
5 Knife 2 Lady
8 Calf 3 Woman
10 Puppy 4 Half
12 Man 6 Baby
14 Child 7 Country
15 Leaf 9 Tooth
18 Berry 11 Shelf
19 Mouse 13 Elf
16 Goose
17 Wife
Name ___________________________

TRICKY NOUNS
Unusual Plural Nouns

7 8

10 11 12 13

14 15

16 17

18

19

ACROSS DOWN

2 Loaf 1 Foot
5 Knife 2 Lady
8 Calf 3 Woman
10 Puppy 4 Half
12 Man 6 Baby
14 Child 7 Country
15 Leaf 9 Tooth
18 Berry 11 Shelf
19 Mouse 13 Elf
16 Goose
17 Wife

WORD BANK: WOMEN, WIVES, TEETH, SHELVES, PUPPIES, MICE, MEN, LOAVES, LEAVES,
LADIES, KNIVES, HALVES, GEESE, FEET, ELVES, COUNTRIES, CHILDREN, CALVES, BERRIES, BABIES
 TRICKY NOUNS
Unusual Plural Nouns

1
F
2 O A V E S
L
3 A E
W
O 4 D T
H
M A I
E L E
5
K N I V E S
6 E
B
7 8 A L V E S
C C
9 O B
T
E 10 U P P I E 11 12 13 N
P S M E
E N E H L
T T S E V
14 H I L D R E N 15 E A V E S
C L
I V S
16 17 E E
G W
18 E R R I E S S
B
E V
S E
19 I C E S
M
Puzzles by the Crossword Puzzle Guy,
(who is also a classroom teacher), are:
ü Ready to Use
ü Develops Vocabulary Skills
ü Word Bank & Answer Key Included

The History of Cross Word Puzzles

Typically, 50 million people per week engage in crossword puzzles. The first “word-cross” in the United
States was published in the New York World in 1913. In 19th century England, they were aimed mostly at
a juvenile audience, and did not become a craze for adults until Simon and Schuster printed the first book
of them in the US in the 1920’s, when they then took on the familiar name “crosswords.” Today, most
daily newspapers include a crossword puzzle as well as many magazines. In fact, crossword puzzles rank
as one of the top three reasons why people buy newspapers- only the front page news and sports section
rank higher for the purchase decision of a newspaper.

Educational Value of Crossword Puzzles

It didn’t take long for teachers to see the educational possibilities of these word puzzles. Crossword
solving involves several useful skills including vocabulary, reasoning, spelling, and word attack skills. To
solve any crossword puzzle, a child must be able to identify and understand the terms being used. This
often involves acquiring new vocabulary or terminology. It can also involve making differentiations
between similar words or phrases. Correctly deciphering a crossword also requires exact spelling, which
for students may mean practicing dictionary skills.

Other important skills required for completing these puzzles include making inferences, evaluating choices,
and drawing conclusions. Completion of crossword puzzles in the classroom is often associated with
recreation, and can be less intimidating for students as review tools. Students who might normally balk at
practice tests, flashcards, or review sessions with the teacher find puzzle solving to be much less
threatening and more like game play. Puzzle solving is a much more active type of learning, and will
engage students with the material more than passive types of review techniques do.

Crossword puzzles also have the advantage of appealing to different learning styles. Visual learners often
have strong puzzle-solving skills, and feel great satisfaction when they complete one. Auditory learners
enjoy step-by-step reasoning, so they also benefit from the sequential steps of completing a crossword.
Crossword puzzles have endured as a favorite national pastime because they are appealing to all ages,
they can be completed in a rather brief period of time, and solving them provides a sense of
accomplishment. For all these reasons, crosswords make a terrific educational tool, and teachers and
homeschoolers will probably continue to use them for many years to come.

Are you looking for a specific crossword puzzle to support your curriculum? Please contact me at
Thecrosswordpuzzleguy@gmail.com and I can created a custom puzzle for your classroom at no charge.

Thank you.
The Crossword Puzzle Guy