Black Authors and Literature word search, scramble and crossword puzzl

Black Authors and Literature word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Black authors and literature puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our reading and Black History Month unit. The kids could name a few famous writers like Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes but had no idea about other incredible authors like Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, or contemporary writers. I wanted to introduce them to a range of voices—from poets like Nikki Giovanni to novelists like Walter Dean Myers and Jacqueline Woodson—without making it feel like a lecture. I also threw in some famous book titles like I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Bluest Eye because they come up in conversations about American literature . For a younger audience, I made sure to include children's book authors like Mari Evans, who wrote empowering vocabulary books for preschoolers during the Black Arts Movement , and modern illustrators like Ana Latese, whose work celebrates Black and brown children .

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 how to spell "Zora" or whether Alex Haley is the author of Roots or something else. The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've read a few short biographies. I added a couple simple quill, book, and star drawings but nothing too busy. I also made sure to include the Coretta Scott King Book Award and the Caldecott Medal in some of the vocabulary because the kids love seeing shiny medals on book covers .

Works for 4th through 6th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick one author from the puzzles and write one fact about them or one book they wrote on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.