17 Across

A crossword puzzle assigned as a homework lesson for fifth-graders studying a book about the 19th-century South asked them to use a racial slur — the N-word — as an answer.

At least one parent complained and the teacher, who is white, apologized to the parents of her students, said Donald Johnson, principal of Sequatchie County Middle School.

Johnson said the teacher obtained the crossword from a Web site, edHelper.com, a membership Web site that offers reading lessons, puzzles and other materials for teachers to download for use in class.

A parent, Clifford Branan, said he could not believe the puzzle with words like cabin, smokehouse and lantern also included the N-word along with its clue, "17 across: An insulting way to label a black person."