Grade 7 Earth Science Word Search, Scramble and Crossword

Grade 7 Earth Science Deep Dive word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Earth Science deep dive puzzle set for my Grade 7 students during our geology and Earth systems unit. The kids knew the basics but kept mixing up the layers of the Earth —especially the difference between the lithosphere and asthenosphere . They also had trouble distinguishing weathering from erosion , and they always forgot whether "basalt" was oceanic or continental crust . So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using vocabulary from the Earth science core: fossils, geologic time, minerals, plate boundaries (convergent, divergent and transform), weathering, erosion, deposition, tsunamis, and the types of rocks in the rock cycle .

The set is six pages. Three puzzles plus an answer key page for each. The word search works well for quiet time after recess, and the scramble gets them talking because they argue about the spelling of "metamorphic" or "sedimentary" . The crossword I use for partners or as a review before a unit test, and I always have a diagram of Earth's layers and a plate boundary chart nearby for the kids who need the visual support to see the relationships between the concepts . I added a couple simple core, mantle, and crust drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for Grade 7 through Grade 8. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers draw a cross-section of Earth's layers and label each one on the back, or name one type of plate boundary and what it creates (mountains, volcanoes, or earthquakes) . The kids actually ask for these now.