What happened in our world? November 28th, 2016 is a crossword based on last week's news events. Download and then print this simple and easy to use PDF and save time preparing for the next Economics or Geography or Business lesson, PSHE lesson, home room period, substitution lesson... You save your precious time and the students get to learn about last week's news events. The puzzles seem to work best when students work in pairs or groups of three, so they discuss the clues and therefore the events of their world. They work even better if the teacher does the puzzle with the students. Crosswords are effective practice activity for helping students with problematic handwriting. In this week's puzzle… The Ugandan police arrested a king, Egyptian archaeologists discovered a 5000 year old city and the Moroccan state television advised women on how to hide the effects of domestic violence with make up. The Indian minster of women's affairs said the news of rape and sexual violence is overstated by the media and is harming tourism. There is a drought in Madagascar and snow in Tokyo. Putin gave Steven Seagal a Russian passport. This is a simple crossword aiming to encourage students to ask about what's happening in their world. Why would a Chinese firm pay over a billion Euros for a website that compares the price of air tickets? Was Fidel Castro a great leader or a tyrant and a dictator? Was the earthquake off Costa Rica related to the New Zealand earthquake? Why would someone steal a baby monkey from a Sydney zoo? Is Formula One car racing a sport? As a bonus, there's another crossword that asks students to name the capital city of the countries that were referred to in last week's news.

The World News Crossword - May 13th, 2018 is a simple PDF document that contains: A crossword based on the events of last week’s news, A Search & Cloze puzzle that explains the plastic pollution problem, A Search & Cloze puzzle that explains the Rohingya Crisis, and A crossword about Climate Change. (The answers are included.) So what happened in last week’s news? Rohingya refugees were killed by wild elephants in the refugee camps in Bangladesh. The US-imposed tariffs on imported Canadian newsprint has raised the cost of US newspapers’ newsprint. A Pakistan court ruled that a US diplomat who allegedly killed a motorcyclist while driving drunk does not have diplomatic immunity. Iraq and East Timor held elections. Moldova’s government ruled out reunification talks with Romania. Poland’s government cut its politicians’ salaries and Zimbabwe’s government raised the pensions and salaries of war veterans and government workers. Israel won the Eurovision song contest, the sea off San Diego glowed blue, and India’s prime minister opened a hydro-electric construction project in Nepal. But it’s less about what happened and more about why. Why are a million Rohingya people living in squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh? Why did US air force planes intercept Russian bombers of the Alaskan coast and why did Chinese air force planes fly around Taiwan? Why is the US president meeting the North Korean leader? Why did Malaysia elect a 92 year old prime minister? Why are Africans still dying of hunger and Ebola? These puzzles are a simple and effective teaching tool for research skills (finally, they can use their smart-phones for something useful), for collaborative learning (because these puzzles work really well when students work in pairs or small groups), for reasoning skills and handwriting skills… We’ve had positive feedback from teachers using the puzzles with ADHD students and with GATE students, in PSHE / homeroom lessons, in English, Economics, Geography, Business… (some teachers even say they make staff meetings bearable - cheeky, eh?) A new World News Crossword resource is published every week.

The World News Crossword - August 12th, 2018 is a 6-page PDF document made up of 4 puzzles based on the events of last week’s news. It’s a quick and simple process to download the resource and it can be stored on a flash drive ready for printing. The World. News Crossword puzzle usually takes a class about 30-45 minutes to complete, leaving some time for discussion on some of the more interesting news stories. The puzzle seems to work best when done in pairs or small groups, to generate discussion. The goal of course is to have students learning more about the world around them, and to prompt them to ask questions, especially ‘why…?’ All for just £2. What’s in this week’s document? (1) A crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) A crossword about Burkina Faso because it was in the news last week because of a malaria/bed-net trial that appears to have reduced the infection rate of malaria by 12%, (3) A crossword all about Climate Change, because it’s always in the news despite what Australia’s agriculture minister said, (3) And a crossword about Julius Caesar that can be shared with an English teacher. It’s included because in last week’s news there was a bit of a performance in front of the Trevi Fountain in Rome. All for just £2. So what happened last week? Australia’s agriculture minister said that the drought affecting almost all of Australia has nothing to do with man-made climate change. Excessive monsoon rain caused deaths, wide-spread displacement, and property damage in Kerala. The Swiss government announced measures to help farmers affected by the drought which has been caused by the heatwave in Europe. Two trucks crashed on the highway near Bologna in Italy, a plane crashed near Seattle, and another plane crashed in Indonesia - and a 12 year old boy survived. There was a magnitude 6.2 aftershock near Lombok Island, also in Indonesia. Brazil closed its border to Venezuelans. Singapore trialled eye-scans at its border. And speaking of borders, it seems (based on surveys) that at least 100 constituencies in Britain that previously voted to leave the EU would now vote to remain in the EU. A German man called the police because he was being chased by a baby squirrel. (Tyranny comes in many forms.) In France, crows were trained to collect cigarette butts and exchange them for food. And Christopher Robin was banned from China (the movie, not the boy) - something to do with Winnie the Pooh. All that (and three bonus puzzles) for just £2.

The World News Crossword (September 17th, 2017) is a simple crossword based on last week's news events. There are THREE more FREE crosswords based on cities and countries around the world. The World News Crossword (September 17th, 2017) is a great activity for supporting literacy, logic, and research skills. It quietly helps students with handwriting issues and it sneakily encourages students to learn more about their word and to discuss why... Why? Why did the UN impose more sanctions on North Korea? Why did Russia suggest UN peacekeepers for Crimea? Why are Australian landowners encouraging Australians to eat kangaroos? And why is Amsterdam's government wanting to discourage tourism? These are just some of the discussions that will pop out of this week's crossword. Or maybe they'll ask where? Where is Lahore? Sri Lanka? New Zealand? South Africa? Myanmar? North Korea? Paris? Barcelona? Crimea? It's a pdf so it can be downloaded quickly, saved to a flash drive, opened and printed quickly for use at a moment's notice.

The World News Crossword - October 1st, 2017 is a one-page crossword based on the events in last week's news. Puerto Ricans seemed to get a telling off from their president, by Twitter of course. China to North Korean businesses operating in China to shut down and get out. Ian Poulter probably thought the same about spectators and their phone cameras. Video of Boris rattling off an offensive colonial-era poem was released and Theresa was asked if he's unsackable. The Catalans tried to vote for independence. The West Papuans also sought independence but the UN didn't want to hear about it. More than 20 Mumbai people were killed in a stampede at a train station and more than 60 Rohingya people were drowned when their boat capsized as they fled the Myanmar Army. Oxford took stern action and put her photo into storage. French soldiers shot and killed a man who stabbed two people in the train station in Marseilles. And a bowl sold for $18 million in Hong Kong. There are THREE bonus puzzles attached to the news crossword - crosswords that focus on Afghanistan, Australia, and Bolivia. Did you know Bolivia and Afghanistan are both landlocked? Elon Musk is building. huge battery in Australia. Bolivia's capital city is Sucre, which is sweet.

The World News Crossword - April 22nd, 2018 is a simple document containing a one page crossword based on last week’s news events. There are three bonus crosswords (Canada, China, and Australia). The World News Crossword - April 22nd, 2018 can be used in Geography, English, SEN (excellent for concentration, logical thinking skills, research skills and handwriting), PSHE/homeroom, Economics, Business… and of course it’s a lot less about what happened and a lot more about the discussions that begin with ‘why…’ Why did China impose a tariff on US sorghum? Why are people protesting in Nicaragua? Why will KitKat lose its trademark protection in the EU? Why are 11,000 Vanuatau residents being evacuated from Ambae Island? The solutions are included.

The World News Crossword - February 18th, 2018 is a crossword based on the events of last week’s news. It’s a simple PDF sop it downloads quickly, is easy to print, and can be stored on a USB drive for use later. (There are 3 bonus crosswords - Egypt, China, and Japan, in the PDF and all of the answers are included too.) Of course, this activity is less about the events around the world and more about why and the discussions and debates that come from asking why. Why have so many orangutans died in the past 10 years? Why would people in Japan pay to go on a virtual-reality trip to Paris? Why are suicide bombers in Nigeria killing people in a fish market? And what’s so important about discovering new antibiotics? What did happen in the world in the last week? Australia’s PM and Deputy PM had a spat. Poland’s PM got a telling off. South Africa’s president resigned. And The Netherlands’ foreign minister resigned too. And so did Ethiopia’s PM. A plane crashed in Iran and a helicopter crashed in Mexico. There was an earthquake in Mexico and one in England and wales too. An Iranian wrestler threw a match so that he’d not have to wrestle against an Israeli. In India a woman pretended to be a man and duped two women into paying to marry him. And an Indian tycoon is on the run having duped a bank out of about $1.8 BILLION!! US scientists discovered a whole new family of antibiotics while Canadian scientists discovered a Picasso painting was a painting on top of another painting.

The World News Crossword - April 15th, 2018 is a simple crossword based on the events in last week’s news from around the world. We create a new puzzle every week so it can be built into a weekly PSHE, Geography, Economics, English, or Social Studies lesson. These crosswords have been used with significant success in with both GATE and SEN students. The puzzles can be used at all levels of high school and middle school, as homework activities or as in-class, small-group activities. Each week there are three bonus puzzles. This week’s download includes two puzzles on climate change and a puzzle on the Amazon Basin. And of course, all the solutions are included. What happened last week? The CEO of the world’s largest advertising agency resigned suddenly. An Australian company advertised for ‘Anglo-Saxon’ staff. A forest fire resulted in evacuations around Sydney. Two Indian athletes were sent home from the Commonwealth Games because needles were found in their accommodation. Indian police rescued 70 children who were working in a jewelry factory. A Russian-built military plane crashed in Algeria killing all passengers and crew. And the US, UK, and France attacked military installations in Syria in response to a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government. It’s less about what happened around the world and more about why. Why did the prime minister of Hungary get re-elected for a third term? Why did the US, UK and France attack Syria because of chemical weapons, but not because of ‘ordinary’ bombs? Why were 11 lions killed in a national park? Why did the New Zealand government announce that it will not issue any new permits to oil exploration companies? Why did the UK government deny entry to an Austrian and a Hungarian?

A one-page crossword based on events in last week’s news. An excellent resource for encouraging students to read last week’s news. Better than that is the discussion that follows. Why did these events happen? Did Facebook contribute to hate crimes?Why is there trouble brewing (again) in the Gaza Strip? Why did an Australian kayak over a 20 metre waterfall? Did a Fox News presenter taunt one of the victims of the Florida school shooting? There are THREE more one-page crosswords included in the resource - focused on UK, Egypt, and Austria - very handy for substitute lessons. Yes, the solutions are included for all the crosswords.

The World News Crossword - April 8th, 2018, is a crossword based on events in last week’s news. (And there are 3 more crosswords that can be used any time to support students’ knowledge of the world around them.) A huge cargo ship smashed into a house on its way from Russia to Saudi Arabia. Government forces in Syria appear to have used chemical weapons again. More Palestinians were killed by Israeli gun fire. Monkeys fought off would-be thieves in Wellington’s zoo in New Zealand. A Japanese man was arrested for licking his violent son in a cage for more than 20 years. A football club suspended most of its players for an argument they were having on… Facebook. I have the students work on the News Crossword in small groups and they compete to be first finished. But they usually get side tracked discussing the events in the news, mostly asking, ‘why?’ Why was China’s space-lab left to crash into the Earth? Why is there so much plastic pollution in the sea near UK? Why are the US and China imposing tariffs on each other’s exports? Why was Prince Charles made an honory chief in Vanuatu? (And why is it ‘honorary’ and not ‘honourary’?) And at what stage do we tell Facebook that our personal information belongs to us and not them?

The World News Crossword - June 3rd, 2018 This resource pack will help your students review some of last week’s news stories. If you have students work in small groups they’ll get excited about being the first to finish, but more importantly, they’ll discuss the news stories and ask why these events happened. They will also learn that their smartphone can be used for something other than Facebook. In last week’s news… Prince William announced he will visit Israel, Palestine and Jordan in the summer. Israeli tanks shelled the Gaza Strip. And a volunteer paramedic was shot and killed as she ran (with her hands in the air) to help a wounded protester. The EU announced a plan to reduce the amount of plastic food and drink containers in use. In Thailand, a whale died after consuming more than 80 plastic bags. Rare, tropical Australian fish were found around New Zealand after an unusually hot summer warmed the Tasman Sea. Residents in Shimla, in India, asked tourists to stay away because of water shortages being caused by a heatwave in Punjab, which also caused more than 60 deaths in Pakistani Punjab. Just a little further north, a 21 year old Kashmiri was killed when he was run down by an Indian army vehicle. Further south in India, 14 people died because of the Nipah virus. 8 more cases of Ebola virus were reported in Democratic Republic of Congo, in Africa. Immigrants from Africa have found an easier and cheaper route to Europe - from Morocco to Spain. A Malian immigrant rescued a small child who was hanging dangerously from an apartment balcony in Paris. More than a million French smokers quit cigarettes last year. And so we’ve included a bonus crossword about France in this week’s resource pack. As well as The World News Crossword, there are 2 Search & Cloze puzzles that will give a little more information about stories that have persisted for several weeks or months. This week these backgrounder puzzles are on Trade Wars and Immigration.

The World News Crossword - September 2nd, 2018 - a crossword based on the events of last week’s news from around the world. There are 4 puzzles in this downloadable PDF document: The World News Crossword, a crossword on Germany, a crossword on India, and a crossword on Japan. So, what happened last week? Coca-Cola bought Costa Coffee and South Korea banned the sale of coffee in schools. The US banned a railway between South and North Korea and India will help Nepal build a railway. NAFTA talks failed and Brexit talks are still failing. Lana Del Ray cancelled her Israel concert and U2 cancelled their Berlin concert. An oil-refinery explosion in Germany and in Chemnitz, there was an explosion of protests against immigrants. Amsterdam’s city council asked civil servants and Syrian immigrants with teaching experience to help resolve the teacher shortage. And a New Zealand town announced a ban on domestic cats.

The World News Crossword - September 16th, 2018 - a crossword based on the events of last week’s news from around the world. There are 4 puzzles in this downloadable PDF document: (1) The World News Crossword, (2) a crossword on The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (from our book of Shakespeare Word Puzzles), (3) a crossword on Croatia (from our A World of Crosswords series), and (4) a crossword on Women in Science and Technology (from our soon-to-be-released ‘Women who changed the world’ book). So, what happened in last week’s news? A mega-hurricane. A malaria outbreak on Lombok Island. And an earthquake off the south-west of Australia. Needles in strawberries in Australia. Environmentalist in treehouses in Germany. And a whale in a stream in Madrid. London’s Mayor wants another Brexit referendum. Spain’s Prime Minister published his Ph.D. thesis online. Nigeria’s Finance Minister resigned because of forgery. And Italy’s Foreign Minister said African migrants are like slaves. Some Kenyans made a boat out of plastic rubbish collected from their beaches to highlight the problem of plastic pollution in the ocean.

**The World News Crossword - August 26th, 2018 **is a 6-page PDF document containing: (1) a crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) a search & cloze puzzle that explains the background of Venezuela’s current economic and human crisis, (3) a crossword all about Venezuela, and (4) a bonus puzzle from our book, ‘Nonsense Rhymes Crosswords’ (because it’s fun to do). All for just £2. **What happened in last week’s news? ** Australia appointed its 6th Prime Minister in 8 years and it rained in drought-stricken New South Wales and Queensland. Sweden’s Sami reindeer herders demanded government assistance to offset problems associated with this summer’s drought and Berliners were told to close their doors and windows to keep out smoke from forest fires. Venezuelans continued to cross the border to Peru, Brazil, and Colombia. Unvaccinated Venezuelans caused a measles epidemic in Brazil where measles had been eradicated. And speaking of measles, Johns Hopkins University researchers have said Russian bots and trolls have been spreading mis-information about measles vaccinations to cause trouble in USA. (FYI, measles vaccinations do not cause autism. Measles, on the other hand, can kill children and this is why most governments provide free vaccinations.) Procter & Gamble submitted applications to trademark text-speak such as FYI, LOL, and WTF. WTF! Meanwhile, back in Venezuela, the inflation rate has reached 18,000%, the government replaced the old bolivar with a new one (with 5 less zeros next to the numbers), hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans are emigrating, and there was a 7.3 earthquake off the north-west Venezuelan coast. This week, we’ve added 2 bonus puzzles to explain the reasons for Venezuelans’ troubles. All for just £2.

The World News Crossword - September 9th, 2018 is a 6-page downloadable PDF made up of 4 puzzles. (1) A crossword based on the events of last week’s news, (2) A search & close puzzle that gives more background to one of last week’s news stories - the Mauritius government’s case against Great Britain in the International Court of Justice regarding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, (3) A crossword about China, and (4) A crossword about Rosalind Franklin. This resource is quick and easy to download and store on a flash drive, ready to print and use in any middle or high school Social Studies or English lesson. It works best when the students work in small groups, soothed discuss the clues, share answers, and then discuss the stories in more depth, asking questions like, ‘What did Japan’s fishermen kill 50 minke whales? Why are elephants still being killed for their ivory? and Why is there still not peace in Syria and Yemen?’ A new World News Crossword is published every week so it can become a weekly lesson.

The World News Crossword - June 17th, 2018 is a 6 page PDF containing: A crossword based on last week’s news events, A Search and Cloze puzzle that helps explain the Kashmir conflict, Another Search and Cloze puzzle that helps explain the Yemen War, and A crossword all about Yemen. (Did you know there are just 70 Arabian leopards alive in the wild? And they’re all in Yemen.) So what happened last week? Raphael Nadal won the French Open for the 11th time. Boris Becker claimed diplomatic immunity in Central African Republic to avoid bankruptcy proceedings. About 700 immigrants were turned away from Italy but were allowed to land in Spain. An immigrant in New York was captured as he delivered pizza to a military base. FIFA announced the world cup will be hosted by USA, Canada, and Mexico (assuming they’re all still friends then). Russia beat Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the world cup opening match. Saudi Arabia’s military led a coalition of Arab countries in support of Yemen’s government, attacking the Yemen port city. And an 18th century Chinese vase found in someone’s attic sold for 16 million Euros.

In this week’s puzzles… (1) A crossword based on events in last week’s news. A search & cloze puzzle detailing Part 2 of the amazing rescue of the 12 boys and their football coach from the flooded cave in northern Thailand, A crossword about NATO, and there are no clues, and A crossword all about Belgium (which achieved 3rd place in the FIFA World Cup). In last week’s news… All twelve boys from the Wild Boars football team and their coach who were trapped in a cave in northern Thailand were rescued. The US president said NATO member countries aren’t contributing enough to NATO (even though countries don’t contribute anything). Britain’s Foreign Minister resigned because he didn’t like the state of Brexit negotiations. Nestlé products are banned from zoos in Melbourne and a man has taken Monsanto to court alleging its weed killer caused his cancer. George Clooney fell off his motor bike while in Sardinia. Justin Bieber got engaged, maybe. An American tourist shut down Vienna airport because of a live artillery shell in her luggage. Scorpions invaded Brazilian cities, sort of. And after 66 years, an Indian man finally cut his finger nails. Angelique Kerber and Novak Đoković won the Women’s and Men’s Singles at Wimbledon. France won the FIFA World Cup, but the most loved and most successful football team during the World Cup was The Wild Boars of Thailand.

The World News Crossword - June 24th, 2018 is a 6 page PDF containing: (1) A crossword based on last week’s news events, (2) A Search and Cloze puzzle that helps explain the causes and issues associated with immigration to the USA, (3) Another Search and Cloze puzzle that explains the FIFA World Cup tournament, and (4) A crossword all about Turkey. (Did you know Turkey’s border with Azerbaijan is just 18 kilometres long and the that whole border is a river?) So what happened last week? Well, speaking of Turkey, they had an election and almost 90% of eligible voters voted. There were blasts at political rallies in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. Syria’s army dropped more barrel bombs in the south of the country. A residential building in Germany exploded. Over 100,000 people protested in London, demanding another Brexit referendum. An Afghan asylum seeker on Nauru was flown to Australia for palliative care. The leader of Romania’s ruling party went to jail, guilty of corruption. Israel’s Prime Minister’s wife was charged with fraud. And New Zealand’s Prime Minister gave birth to a baby girl and women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to drive cars.

The World News Crossword - November 18th, 2018 4 crossword puzzles, downloaded as a PDF to print for your whole class. A crossword based on the events of last week’s world news. A crossword about Yemen which has featured in the news over the past few weeks, A crossword about Great Britain which has also featured in the news over the past few weeks - Brexit!, and A crossword about women political leaders around the world. So, what were some of last week’s news events? A bus caught fire in Zimbabwe and whole towns in California were destroyed by fire. Brazil’s new foreign minister thinks climate change is a Marxist conspiracy. Fish in the Amazon with plastic in them. EU politicians asked Amazon to stop selling products that glorified the USSR. Finland summoned the Russian ambassador to explain why Finland’s GPS was messed about with. A Norwegian navy frigate was sunk after it hit an oil tanker and a naval submarine that sank a year ago was found. Morocco inaugurated the fastest train service in Africa, from Casablanca to Tangiers. Scientists voted to change the way the kilogram is defined. New Zealand’s police discovered almost 200 kilograms of cocaine in a shipment of bananas, but that was small bananas compared to this: Iran’s government intercepted 6 tonnes of heroin being shipped to Europe. And finally - Britain said it would ‘urge’ the UN Security Council to initiate a truce in the Yemen war.

A crossword based on the events of last week’s news (with 3 bonus crosswords, each expanding on an aspect of last week’s news). This worksheet is ESSENTIAL for any teacher wanting to develop international mindedness in their students. It asks what happened in the world last week and it prompts students to ask why. Remember the Afghan boy who hit internet fame for wearing a plastic bag adapted to be a Lionel Messi football shirt? His family had to move from their home, because the Taliban attacked them, demanding money - because that internet fame made them rich, right? Why did the last refugee rescue ship operating in the Mediterranean cease operations? Why was it operated by an N.G.O. and not a government? And why are refugees needing to be rescued in the Mediterranean? There’s a crossword about Angela Merkel who will stand down from her role as Germany’s Chancellor soon. There’s another crossword about Australia too - where there was an earthquake and where a man was jailed for killing a kangaroo, and filming himself doing it, and posting the video to social media. And there’s a crossword about Afghanistan. Can your students find Afghanistan on a globe? You have a globe in your classroom - don’t you?