Crossword Lesson Plan

On the New York Times website, I saw lessons using crossword puzzles.  I can see using a crossword puzzle in multiple ways to help teach or reinforce content that is being taught.  The first idea that came into my head was using a crossword puzzle to help teach vocabulary words.  The "clues" would be the definition of the vocabulary word and the vocab word would be the answer that they had to fill in.  This would help the students learn the definition of the word as well as the spelling.  I think crossword puzzles are a great way to help teach because it is a fun and engaging thing for students to do that they will enjoy and that will help them retain the information.