Ancient Mesopotamia word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Ancient Mesopotamia word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Ancient Mesopotamia puzzle set for my 4th graders during our world history unit. The kids had heard of the "cradle of civilization" but had no idea what words like ziggurat, cuneiform, or Fertile Crescent meant. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Mesopotamia, Tigris, Euphrates, Fertile Crescent, ziggurat, cuneiform, writing, tablet, scribe, city-state, Sumer, Babylon, Hammurabi, code, 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 Hammurabi's Code was fair or harsh. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple ziggurat and tablet drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 4th through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write one fact about cuneiform writing on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.