Master class “Creating a crossword with illustrations”

Ryabichenko Nadezhda Vladimirovna, primary school teacher of the MKOU "Mikhailovskaya Osh" Kikvidzensky district of the Volgograd region
Description: I bring to your attention a master class on creating a crossword puzzle. This material will be useful to primary and secondary school teachers, additional education teachers, students of pedagogical educational institutions, and school students.

Target: creating a crossword puzzle in Microsoft Word and designing it in the graphic editor Paint
Tasks:
- introduce the technology of creating a crossword puzzle with illustrations
- develop skills in working in Microsoft Word and the graphic editor Paint, attention, thinking, creativity

Dear colleagues, in my new MK I want to tell you about how you can create a crossword puzzle in a Microsoft Word document, then take a screenshot of an area of ​​the screen, and then, continuing to work in the Paint graphic editor, insert the corresponding images.

Progress:

1. To create a crossword puzzle, you will need illustrations on the topic; they can be found on the Internet and saved in a folder created on the computer. You can also pre-compose a crossword puzzle on a regular sheet of paper.
Important: images should not be large in size
2. Open the program Microsoft Word on the computer.
3. On the tab Insert in the window Table select Insert table.

4. In the window that appears Inserting a table select the number of rows and columns you need.

5. Increase the size of the box (or decrease it) if necessary, so that your table contains squares rather than rectangles.

6. When working with tables, go to the tab Constructor and in the window Draw borders select Eraser.

7. Using an eraser, alternately clicking on the lines of each cell of the table, remove unnecessary ones so that you are left with only the crossword puzzle grid.

8. Print the answer numbers in the crossword puzzle cells.

9. Take a screenshot of the crossword grid. To do this you can use the program Scissors on your computer by going to start menu, select all programs and then scissors. Select the area you need in the text file, in the window that appears, select Save fragment.

10. In the new window that appears, select the folder in which you will save the image.

11. Once you have taken a screenshot of the crossword grid, open the resulting image, select Open and in the window that appears, find Paint.

12. Now we need to insert an image into this crossword puzzle. Click Insert, then Paste from

13. In the window that appears, select the desired folder and then one of the images that you want to insert into the crossword puzzle. Click on the image, then click Open.

14. Our image covers part of the crossword puzzle.

15. Right-click on it and select Resize. In the window that appears Changing sizes and tilt change the size to percentage. You initially have 100% horizontally and vertically. By changing the % horizontally, deleting the number 100, type, for example, 70. The percentage ratio will automatically change vertically. Click OK.

16. Your image size will change.

17. Click anywhere outside the image to remove the selection.
18. Following steps 12-17, insert the following image and resize it.
If you have resized the image so that your image is too small, follow the steps in step 15 again and increase the percentage instead of decreasing it.
19. Our image is again in the upper left corner, left-click on it and drag, holding, to the desired location.

20. Follow steps 12-19 to insert the remaining images.

21. All we have to do is number the pictures. To do this in the window Tools choose Inserting text into an image. Then click the left mouse button next to any image, a selection area appears.

22. Select in the window Colors any color, and in the selection area we print the number using the desired font and its size.

23. Again, click the left mouse button next to the other image, and type another number in the selection area. Let's number all the pictures. Close the program and save.
Our crossword is ready!

Thank you for attention! I wish you success in creating crossword puzzles and mastering new programs!

Do you want to create a crossword puzzle yourself (it doesn’t matter why - of your own free will or it’s computer science homework), but you don’t want to be limited to a piece of paper? Modern computer programs allow you to create similar puzzles of any complexity. In addition, there are various online services. In this article we will look at how to make a crossword puzzle in Microsoft Word. First of all, you need to draw it up somewhere in a notebook or on a piece of paper, since you can’t just draw it. You must have your own idea. The computer is only a means of implementation.

Before drawing the grid for the crossword, it is advisable to increase the margins of your document so that there is as much basic space to work with as possible. To do this you need to do the following.

1. Go to the Layout tab.
2. Click on the "Fields" button.
3. After that, select “Narrow”.

Only after this can you begin the creation process, which is much more difficult.

1. Go to the "Insert" tab. Click on the “Table” button. In the menu that appears, try to draw a large table. The default maximum size is 10 by 8. This is not enough if you want to build a large crossword.

1. Do the same steps, only this time click on the “Insert Table” item.

1. After this, a window will appear in which you can specify the required number of columns and rows. For example, you can choose 20 by 20. This way you can create tables of any size. In order to see the result, you need to click on the “OK” button.

1. As a result of this you will see the following.

In theory, one could create the same table in the Microsoft Excel editor and transfer it to a Word document. In this case, the result will not be very beautiful - everything will move to the right.

Therefore, it is better to use the capabilities of the Word program.

1. Before composing a crossword puzzle, you need to make squares of the same size. To do this, go to the "Layout" tab and specify the dimensions for each cell.

1. The main thing is to have the same values ​​everywhere.

You can do the same using the context menu.

1. To do this, select the entire table and right-click.
2. In the menu that appears, select “Table Properties”.

1. Then, on the “Column” tab, specify the width (in centimeters).

1. After that, on the “String” tab, specify the same height.
2. To apply the settings, click on the “OK” button.

1. Then you need to put the table in the center of the document. To do this, click on the corresponding button on the toolbar located on the “Home” tab. Or press the key combination Ctrl + E. The result will be the same.

Filling with content

At this stage we have a clean crossword puzzle. This needs to be fixed

Numbering

Let's put the numbers randomly, since this is an example. Otherwise, they should be in their places so that there is no overlap of words with each other. Therefore, it is necessary to draw the entire crossword puzzle somewhere on paper in advance, or print this blank template and practice on it. In this case, you do not have to draw lines on paper using a ruler. This method is the most optimal and fastest.

By default the numbers are very large. They will interfere with entering the guessed words. It is not right. A person cannot sit for long at such a puzzle. You can correct the situation as follows.

1. Before you do anything, you need to select the entire table. For example, you can do this by clicking on the icon in the upper left corner.

1. After that, on the home tab you need to select a small font size. For example, equal to "9".

You can reduce the size of the numbers using another method - just make them in the form of a mathematical degree. As a result of this, they will appear at the top, will be small in size and will not interfere with the writing of words.

The effect will be almost the same. Perhaps even better.

Black cells

In any crossword puzzle there are fields where you do not need to write letters, that is, this is almost a “dead zone”. As a rule, they are highlighted in black or dark color. This is done as follows.

1. Select the required number of cells.

1. After that, on the “Home” tab, click on the fill icon. In the list of colors that appears, you need to select something suitable. Most people choose black. But it is better to use something gray, since in this case less ink will be used when printing in the printer. This is especially important if there are a lot of black cells.

1. Your selected color will remain. In the future, just click on the icon. There is no need to call up any additional menu.

1. In this way you can very quickly paint over any number of cells. Just like in the Excel editor: just select an element and click on the fill tool.

Or you can do this by right-clicking on the desired cell or selected range. After a pause, a small panel will appear containing exactly the same tool.

Keyword

Sometimes in crossword puzzles it is necessary to indicate some secret word. You can guess it only when the answers are written in the adjacent cells. But as a rule, this line needs to be highlighted somehow so that the person guessing understands that it is there for a reason.

To do this, you need to do the following.

1. Select a number of cells somewhere in the center. Right click your mouse.

1. In the context menu that appears, select “Table Properties”.

1. Go to the “Table” tab. After that, click on the “Borders and Fill” button.

1. In the window that appears, select a width of 1 or 1.5 points.

1. Then we indicate some color that will clearly stand out.

1. After you make your choice, you will need to click on the “OK” button.

1. Then back to “OK”.

1. As a result of this we will see the following.

Custom shape

Sometimes a regular text crossword puzzle comes in some original shape, that is, it differs from a rectangle. This is quite easy to do.

Outer cells

First of all, let's remove several side cells. To do this you need to take the following steps.

1. Highlight the area you don't like. Click on the indicated triangle next to the Borders tool.

1. In the list that appears, select “No border”. The result will be a little unsightly, since the remaining cells will have lost the outside.

1. In order to correct this situation, you need to select the damaged cells and repeat the steps described above, but only this time select the “All borders” item.

1. Immediately after this, you will be a little surprised because they will turn into the same color that we highlighted the keyword with. The fact is that the Word editor has remembered the previous settings.

1. In order to return the borders to black, you first need to select these cells. Then right-click again and select “Table Properties” in the context menu that appears.

1. Go to the “Table” tab and click on the “Borders and Shading” button.

1. We change everything to the default values.

It is black in color and 0.75 pt wide. To save, click on the “OK” button.

1. Close the “Table Properties” window using the same action.

1. Now the outermost cells look quite normal.

1. In order to return the vertical cells to their previous appearance, you need to repeat the steps described above and select the “All borders” item.

1. Now the crossword angle looks much better.

Inside the crossword

If you need such empty areas in the body of your puzzle (for example, to insert a picture), then this is done a little differently.

1. Select the required cells. Go to the “Layout” tab. Click on the “Selection” icon. Select the “Merge Cells” option.

1. The result of your actions will be the following.

Now you can insert anything there or leave everything as is.

Design of a question and answer block

If the size is large, you will have to use at least two sheets so that the questions and the crossword puzzle can be seen at the same time. For example, in the case of a newspaper or magazine, it is impossible to allow such an option that in order to read assignments you have to flip the page back and forth.

The appearance should be as good as possible. To attract a person’s attention, try to use different design styles, and not “sculpt” everything with the same type of text.

It is advisable to turn the answers upside down and place them on another page so that they are difficult to read while guessing the tasks.

To turn over, we use a small 1 by 4 table. You can do this as follows.

1. Go to the “Insert” tab, click on the “Table” icon and select the appropriate option.

1. Fill in the table with the required answers vertically and horizontally.

1. Right-click on the line with the answers. In the menu that appears, select “Text Direction”.

1. In the window that appears, select the item with vertical orientation. To save the settings, click on “OK”.

1. The result will be as follows.

1. Then you need to repeat the steps described above for the second block of answers (horizontally).

Online services

If you are too lazy to create your own crossword puzzle, you can use various sites (for example, the service), where you can download ready-made options on various topics.

Here you can find:

• Crosswords;
• scanwords;
• themed crosswords;
• dictionaries.

And, of course, you will be able to create a crossword puzzle.

While creating a crossword, you can add words and questions on the right side of the site.

To customize the dimensions of your puzzle, you need to click on the “Crossword Grid” link.

In the menu that appears, you can specify the width and height.

If you open the "Ready Templates" page, you will find a large list of ready-made options.

For example, happy new year crossword puzzle.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you should have learned how to create crossword puzzles of any difficulty level, since everything was shown in the smallest detail. If you're having trouble, you may be highlighting the wrong cells or opening the wrong toolbar tabs.

If you have difficulty composing questions, you can always use the Google or Yandex search engine and find all the necessary information there. Making a frame is not difficult. The main thing is to make your puzzle make logical sense.

Video instruction

If you still have any questions, you can try to find answers to them in the video attached below.

Making crosswords is a fun activity. Some compile them for fun, others for study. Compiling manually on paper is a labor-intensive task, especially when you need to frequently adjust the cells. For this purpose it is better to use computer resources. Let's look at what programs are suitable for creating crosswords on a computer.

How to make a crossword in MS Word?

Let's open a new document in MS Word and immediately save it with a name, for example, “Crossword Template”. A crossword puzzle is a combination of black and white cells, formed in the form of a table. Therefore, to create a template, we will need to go to the “Insert” → “Table” menu. Determine the number of rows and columns. In our example, let the table be 20×20 in size.

Format the cell size. Formatting can be done in two ways: select “Table Properties” by clicking on the “Layout” tab or by clicking on the icon in the upper left corner. In the window, set the width of the cells and height, for example, 1 cm. If you need a different size, select it so that the cells look symmetrical. Now you need to paint over the cells that are intermediate between the words with a dark color.

To see which cells to color, you need to create a crossword puzzle project on a sheet of paper in a box, entering the answers in the right order, or use any online service. We'll need the Borders and Fills tab. First select the desired cell. On the “Fill” tab, select the desired color. When the required cells of the template are filled in, you need to put the numbers of the crossword questions in certain cells.

The template can be made in another way: in the created table, write down the answers in the required order, mark the boundaries of these cells with bold lines, and discolor the boundaries of unused cells. You will get a traditional crossword puzzle.

How to make a crossword in MS Excel?

In MS Excel, a crossword puzzle can be done in various ways. Let's consider a version of the same format as was created in Word. We create and save the document in the same way. Let our template be 15x15 in size. Let's select the cells horizontally from A to O, and the first 15 cells vertically. Let's format the size of our range. In the “Format” section, select “Cell Size” and set the required dimensions. Set the height of the cells to 25, and the width to 5. The cells will become square.

Using the “Borders” menu in our range, select all the borders using the appropriate option. Next, you need to format the placement of letters in the cells by selecting the “Center” option in the “Format Cells” menu, vertically in the cell and horizontally. We will make our template automated. To do this, write all the answers in the cells of the template, filling in the spaces between them. To fill, use the Fill Color option in the Font panel.

Writing crossword questions is best done using the “Note” option. When you need to enter an answer in the selected cell, a note with a question will pop up. It is recommended to enter a note in the first cell of the word. To do this, select “Insert a note”, in the window of which we write our question. Here you can format any aspect of the note, including size, font, and letter color. If there are two questions in a box: horizontally and vertically, write both options in one note.

The cell with the note will be indicated with a red triangle. The note can be changed or deleted using the appropriate options. To delete answers in a crossword puzzle, create a copy of it below, for example, placing it on line 50. In the original, delete all letters using DELETE. You can place a copy on another sheet of our document.

Let's set up a check for the correctness of writing answers; to do this, you need to set a rule for each cell using conditional formatting. We select the first cell of the original, set a rule by assigning it the value of the first cell of our copy “=50” using the option “Format only cells that contain”, and also set the color of the correct answer, for example, blue.

Using the copy function, we paste our cell with the rule into other cells of the original. You can also manually set a rule for each cell, similar to the first one. A copy of the crossword puzzle must be made invisible so that when solving it it is not possible to view the answer. This removes all notes and cell borders. Fonts and cells are set to white. To hide all formulas in cells, in the “Cell Format” item, select “Number” → “Number Formats” → “All Formats”, and enter a semicolon three times. The formulas will become hidden.

How to transfer a crossword puzzle to MS Office?

Not all online services can transfer a crossword template or a completed version to MS Office. The transfer function is available on the online service >Cross. Initially, a template is created on the service. To do this, you need to select the number of cells in the crossword puzzle and enter the desired words from the list on the left. The crossword is generated automatically. On the online service panel there are two commands that allow you to download a blank template in Word format or a completed one. Then the resulting copy can be printed using Word.

In the same way, you can transport templates from the crossword editor “Krestoslovitsa” to Excel97. The program builds a crossword both manually and automatically with a maximum cell size of 60×60, which is suitable for 700 words. The dictionary contains about 28 thousand words with definitions.

The paid version allows you to print received copies of the crossword puzzle, as well as make a free transfer to other programs. An Excel converter is needed to finalize the template. It contains arrows, questions and digital clues. For this purpose, the environment contains appropriate macros.

Online services for creating crossword puzzles

There is a large selection of services that are designed for composing crossword puzzles. All of them have a standard set of functions: constructing a template in manual and automatic mode, generating a crossword puzzle from a list of words. Words are entered automatically when selected from the dictionary or by letter. Many offer the option of printing a finished copy. These online services are the most popular.

Solving crossword puzzles not only helps you pass a little time, but also exercises your mind. Magazines used to be popular, where there were many similar puzzles, but now they can also be solved on the computer. Any user has access to many tools with which to create crossword puzzles.

It is very easy to create such a puzzle on a computer, and several simple methods will help you do this. By following simple instructions, you can quickly create a crossword puzzle. Let's look at each method in more detail.

Method 1: Online services

If you don’t want to download programs, we suggest you use special sites where puzzles of this type are created. The disadvantage of this method is the inability to add questions to the grid. They will have to be completed using additional programs or written out on a separate sheet.

The user only needs to enter the words, select the layout of the lines and indicate the saving option. The site offers to create a PNG image or save the project as a table. All services work approximately according to this principle. Some resources have a function for transferring a finished project to a text editor or creating a printable version.

Method 2: Microsoft Excel

Method 3: Microsoft PowerPoint

Method 4: Microsoft Word

Method 5: Programs for creating crossword puzzles

There are special programs that can be used to create a crossword puzzle. Let's take CrosswordCreator as an example. This software contains everything necessary that is used when creating crosswords. And the process itself is completed in a few simple steps:

To perform this method, the CrosswordCreator program was used, but there is other software that helps create crosswords. They all have unique features and tools.

To summarize, I would like to note that all of the methods listed above are well suited for creating crosswords; they differ only in complexity and the presence of additional functions that make the project more interesting and unique.

I remember somewhere in the 8th or 9th grade, during a geography lesson, the teacher gave me the task of creating a crossword puzzle on the theme of the cities of Russian heroes.

Already at that time, my passion for various crossword puzzles was off the charts. Reading any newspaper began with turning to the last page and searching for a new crossword puzzle. If he was there, then the newspaper remained in my hands, if not, it was disposed of.

Based on my experience in solving crossword puzzles, the task was completed in a matter of hours. I had a specific plan for creating a crossword puzzle and it looked like this:

1. Choose a topic for a crossword puzzle.
2. Collect questions and answers.
3. On a notebook sheet in a box, write the answers vertically and horizontally.
4. Circle the words with a grid and paint over unnecessary cells.
5. Arrange the numbers for the questions.
6. Add a list of questions based on existing numbers on the crossword puzzle.

Have you decided to do a crossword puzzle? Do not be lazy to open the directory and draw information from it. Mistakes are not allowed.

I repeat, even at that time, doing a crossword without a computer was very quick, the main thing was to understand what you were doing.

How to make a crossword

Solving crossword puzzles is an ideal option to test your knowledge. Similar test methods are slowly beginning to be introduced in various educational institutions.

By the way, I will also use these methods. Upon completion of filling the site with Word topics, a crossword puzzle will be compiled to test knowledge.

From the previous section, we already know that before creating any crossword puzzle, you need to have a plan, from which it will be clearly clear what the topic of the crossword puzzle is and what words will be used. This is what we will do now.

Choosing a topic for a crossword puzzle

You can come up with a million topics. You can create a crossword on a topic that:

1. Interested in you personally. Maybe it's your hobby, deep interests, etc.
2. After conducting research, an expert opinion was drawn up on the current interest of the population. We are writing a crossword puzzle on this topic.
3. Thematic crosswords to identify knowledge in a given area.
4. Children's crosswords, with questions in the form of poems.
5. And others…

It should be added here that a crossword puzzle can be both thematic and versatile. There are no strict criteria, the main thing is that it is interesting and informative.

In my case, I will choose the theme of children's crossword puzzles with questions in the form of poems. Right now I’m studying with my children the types of mushrooms in our forest belt, so I’ll do a crossword puzzle about them.

Making a list of questions and answers

The list of questions may be endless, but do not forget that each case must have its own logical conclusion.

For example, children physically cannot sit in one place for more than 20 - 30 minutes, which is why, before giving a task, you should think about whether he will have time to complete it.

Therefore, we make a list of questions taking into account time. The crossword puzzle should be solved within 20 - 30 minutes, of course, if you know the answer to the question.

How to draw a crossword in Word

The most basic, if not the only, way to draw a crossword puzzle in Word is to use tables.

All we need is to create a table of the required sizes, and either remove or paint over the unnecessary parts.

In a word, we will act like sculptors who, already at the very initial stage, see not a stone, but a future sculpture, and all that needs to be done is to remove the excess.

Making a crossword puzzle grid using a table

If you get really confused, you should first create a crossword on a notebook sheet of squared paper in order to find out what kind of grid we need, and only then resort to a computer and the Word editor.

Honestly, I’m too lazy to do this, especially since you can always add additional rows and columns to the table, and if they turn out to be superfluous, it costs nothing to delete them.

Therefore, I suggest creating a 10x8 grid (the maximum allowed size in the Word ribbon) and getting started.

1. Go to the "Insert" tab and select the "Table" button.
2. Select the existing cells, they are exactly 10x8 and left-click.
   
3. Select the table and go to “Table Properties” to align the cells in width and height. In the “Table Properties” window, in the “Row”, “Column” and “Cell” tabs, set the width and height to 1 cm.
   

I got this grid:

Filling the crossword with text

You will have to tinker with filling the crossword with text. You can, of course, make a huge crossword puzzle, where each word will intersect with only one word, but you need to make compact crosswords, where one word will intersect with several.

It looks more beautiful and saves more space.

In fact, if you don’t have enough imagination, you can use any program that can generate a crossword puzzle from your words. Look on the Internet, there are a lot of such developments.

Brainstorming helped me create a grid like this, in which I entered all the available words.

As you can see, I had to add several columns and rows, and also change the width and height of the cells to 0.58 cm.

Paint over unnecessary cells of the crossword puzzle

After adding words to the crossword template, you can see for yourself that there are a lot of unclaimed cells left that spoil the whole look.

Let's paint over the unnecessary lines of the cells, leaving only those in which the letters are written.

1. Go to the “Designer” tab, which will appear when you select a table in the document.
2. In the “Framing” group, select the “No Border” border type.
3. Click the “Coloring Borders” button and draw along all the extra borders that are not needed in our crossword puzzle.
4. Click on the “Borders” button and activate the “Display grid” command, thereby leaving only the visible borders of the crossword puzzle on the screen.

Delete the text and add question numbers in the cells

All that remains is to remove the answers from the crossword puzzle, arrange the numbers of the questions and, below the crossword puzzle, add the questions themselves.

Let's get started.

1. We remove one word at a time - the answer from the crossword puzzle, in place of the first letter of the word we put a number with a question, and under the crossword puzzle we write a question under this number.

Sort the questions vertically and horizontally.

2. Let's make the numbers superscript. To do this, select all the table cells, go to fonts and check the “Superscript” box.

That's all. This way you can make a crossword puzzle in Word.

Template of a ready-made crossword puzzle in Word

And here's what happened in the end. Print out the screenshot and try to solve the crossword puzzle. If it works, well done, if not, then I added the answers below. Good luck!