Even with many fantastic Web 2.0 tools out there, there is truly something whimsical about puzzle makers. I love them. When I taught ELA I gave my students a 5 minute assignment (known as the "do now") at the beginning class to ease them into the day's lesson. Students knew that when they came into class they were to look on the Promethean board and quickly begin their "do now." Because I wanted to get their minds revving and ready to learn I would often change it, matching it to whatever we were learning. I would place a riddle, a soduku problem and sometimes hand out a short crossword puzzle.
When doing research a new Web 2.0 tool for this class I came across a very neat and free site. Discoveryschool.com offers the teacher a way to create puzzles for their lessons. I especially like that the puzzles can be created for just about any subject area. The Discovery site also has pre made puzzles. I thought of using it as an icebreaker for trainings as well. To avoid making copies I could just as easily pull it up on one of the Promethean boards (smart board) and have the students copy it into their notebooks with several students working on the board.
Not only does this site have a puzzlemaker, but it also has a variety of other lesson plan ideas for teachers, including tips for new teachers and free clip art for use in the classroom or on your very own web page. I must say that although we are living in the age of new Web 2.o tools and engaging media a little tradition with an interactive twist can be just as interesting to students.
