American Explorers word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

American Explorers word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this American explorers puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our social studies unit. The kids had heard of Columbus but had no idea about other explorers like Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, or Hudson. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Columbus, Cabot, Hudson, Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, exploration, discover, voyage, route, map, river, ocean, westward, and native. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help more explorer names finally stick.

The PDF is four pages. Three puzzles plus one answer key page. The word search works well for quiet time after recess. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether Columbus actually landed in North America. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple ship and compass drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers name one thing Lewis and Clark discovered on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.