NotebookLM + Crossword Labs: Quickly Create Puzzles from Your Lessons

Notes from My AI for Education Journey

Image generated using ChatGPT

Like many, I’m fascinated by AI’s potential, especially in education. As a parent focused on the K-5 age group, I’ve been exploring how AI can help adults—parents and teachers—create more engaging and effective learning activities. I believe that AI should work behind the scenes for younger kids, empowering us to design better games, explorations, and revision tools, rather than having children interact with AI directly.

I’ve been running small experiments in this space, and I plan to document them here on Medium.

I’ll start with one fun example — a simple workflow using AI to generate the clues and answers for educational crossword puzzles directly from lesson content.

We know kids often love crosswords — they’re a great way to keep them engaged and reinforce learning. So, I wondered: could we easily convert subject knowledge into crosswords that students can solve to revise their lessons?

I found a simple method using Google’s NotebookLM and Crossword Labs. I shared it recently on X (formerly Twitter), and judging by the positive response, it seems others found it useful too.

Here’s how you can create your own:

1. Add Sources: Gather your lesson materials (notes, texts, summaries) and add them as sources in NotebookLM.
2. Prompt for Clues & Answers: Use a prompt in NotebookLM that asks it to generate clues and answers based only on your uploaded sources, specifying the exact output format needed for Crossword Labs (ANSWER Clue on each line, with no extra formatting.

• Here’s the exact prompt I used (you can adjust the number ‘10’ as needed):

Create 10 clues for a crossword in the following style. Do not add any bullets
or any other formatting: 
dog man's best friend

1. Copy the Generated Text: Copy the list of clues and answers generated by NotebookLM.
2. Paste into Tool: Go to CrosswordLabs.com and paste the copied text into the generator box. It will automatically build the crossword grid.
3. Share or Print: Once ready, you can print the crossword, download it as a PDF, or share the generated link for students to solve online.

I specifically chose NotebookLM for generating the content because it sticks closely to the source materials provided. This helps ensure the clues and answers are grounded in your actual lesson content, making it a reliable way to create accurate revision activities.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.