crossword-from-source
Generate educational crossword puzzles by extracting vocabulary from source files. Use when users want to create crossword puzzles from lecture notes, textbook content, documentation, or code files. Triggers on requests like "create a crossword from this file", "make a vocabulary puzzle from my notes", or "generate a crossword for my students". Designed for college-level students with moderate verbal fluency (SAT-level, not GRE).
When & Why to Use This Skill
This Claude skill automates the creation of educational crossword puzzles by extracting key vocabulary and technical terms from uploaded source files such as lecture notes, textbooks, and documentation. It streamlines the study process by transforming dense information into interactive practice sets, featuring customizable difficulty levels and professional grid layouts designed for college-level learning and retention.
Use Cases
- Academic Exam Prep: Transform complex lecture notes or textbook chapters into crossword puzzles to reinforce key concepts and terminology before exams.
- Technical Documentation Review: Help developers and engineers master new API documentation or technical specifications through engaging word-association puzzles.
- Classroom Activity Generation: Enable educators to quickly create supplementary learning materials and interactive worksheets directly from their lesson plans.
- Professional Vocabulary Training: Assist learners in specialized fields (like medicine or law) to memorize and recall domain-specific jargon using contextual and definitional clues.
| name | crossword-from-source |
|---|---|
| description | Generate educational crossword puzzles by extracting vocabulary from source files. Use when users want to create crossword puzzles from lecture notes, textbook content, documentation, or code files. Triggers on requests like "create a crossword from this file", "make a vocabulary puzzle from my notes", or "generate a crossword for my students". Designed for college-level students with moderate verbal fluency (SAT-level, not GRE). |
Crossword Puzzle Generator
Generate crossword puzzles from source material for educational use.
Process
1. Gather Source Material
Ask which files to analyze if not specified. Accept text, markdown, PDF, or code files.
2. Extract Key Terms
Identify 15-25 meaningful terms:
Include: Technical terminology, proper nouns, domain vocabulary, words appearing multiple times Exclude: Common words, words <4 or >15 letters, obscure jargon
3. Generate Clues
Create clues at college level with moderate verbal fluency. See references/clue-guidelines.md for detailed calibration.
Distribution: 60% straightforward, 30% moderate, 10% challenging
Clue types:
- Definitional: "Process of cell division producing gametes" → MEIOSIS
- Contextual: "In the reading, this structure stores genetic information" → NUCLEUS
- Fill-in-blank: "The ___ principle states position and momentum cannot both be precisely known" → UNCERTAINTY
4. Generate Grid
Create a valid crossword grid:
- Size 15x15 for 15-20 words, scale as needed
- Use rotational symmetry (180-degree)
- All words must intersect; no isolated sections
- Minimum 4-letter words
Use src/crossword/grid_generator.py if available, or generate algorithmically.
5. Output
Provide puzzle in this structure:
## [PUZZLE TITLE]
### Grid (Student Version)
[ASCII grid with numbers, empty squares]
### Clues
**ACROSS**
1. [Clue] (N letters)
**DOWN**
1. [Clue] (N letters)
---
### Answer Key
[Filled grid]
See references/output-formats.md for ASCII rendering and JSON export format.
Options
- Difficulty level: Adjust clue subtlety (easy/medium/hard)
- Word count: Target specific number of terms
- Theme: Focus on specific topics from source
- JSON export: Provide structured data for web rendering