Ancient Greece word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Ancient Greece word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Ancient Greece puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our world history unit. The kids had heard of Greek myths and the Olympics but had no idea what words like city-state, democracy, or philosopher meant. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Athens, Sparta, city-state, democracy, philosopher, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Olympics, Zeus, Hera, mythology, Parthenon, acropolis, and ancient. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the vocabulary 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 Athens or Sparta had a stronger army. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple column and vase drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write one fact about the ancient Olympics on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.