Creating Puzzles

An Extra Credit Project

The purpose of this activity is to use InterActions ideas to create word puzzles that you can share with other InterActions students. See the puzzles main page for several examples of word puzzles. Like all extra credit projects, this project must be approved by your teacher first!

Your task is to create at least three word puzzles of your own that are of two or more different types. To make these puzzles, use the following guidelines:

1. Create a list of InterActions-related words that you want to include in your puzzle. Try to come up a set of words that have a common theme. For example, you could create a set of words connected to ideas introduced in Unit 2. Or you could come up with a list of words that all have to do with mechanical interactions.
2. Find software that creates word puzzles. Some software is available on-line for free. If you go to the Puzzlemaker web site, you can actually create puzzles on-line. Most puzzle-making software is not free, however. Check with your teacher to see if your school has any puzzle-making software that you can use.
3. Select the types of word puzzles you would like to create. Try to make each puzzle you create a different type of word puzzle. For this assignment, you need to have at least two different types of puzzles, in addition to a minimum of three puzzles.
4. Create the puzzles. Just follow the instructions in whatever software you use, or the instructions on the Puzzlemaker web site. The software should create the solutions to the puzzles as well.

If you want a real challenge, you could simply try to create the puzzles yourself, without using any software. Since creating your own puzzles is much more time-consuming, you need to check with your teacher to determine if you'll get any additional extra credit for creating your own puzzles.

For a PDF version of this page, click here.