I handed out a crossword to my class of nine year-olds yesterday (yes, the same ones who want Hannah Montana’s head on a stick) and after the initial enthusiasm, they started asking, “But where are the clues?”

An activitity to review simple vocabulary and grammar structures with young learners is to give them the crossword and keep the clues separate. Then ask them to come out individually and read a clue.

This means that the whole class is involved in the activity and so stronger learners don’t finish in record time and weaker students don’t feel as though they are being left behind. Also, it practises both speaking and listening skills and is a good opportunity to practise pronunciation and spelling.