Board Games and Strategy Vocabulary word search, scramble and crosswor

Board Games and Strategy Vocabulary word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this board games and strategy vocabulary puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our indoor recess and critical thinking unit. The kids loved playing games, but they kept mixing up words like "turn" and "move" and had no idea what "strategy," "tactic," or "risk" meant when we talked about planning ahead and making smart choices. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like board game, player, piece, token, dice, roll, move, turn, strategy, tactic, risk, reward, opponent, win, lose, score, and rules. 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 the difference between a "strategy" and a "tactic" or whether a "risk" is always worth taking (they always have opinions about it). The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've played a few games and talked about what made them work or fall apart. I added a couple simple pawn, die, and game board drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write a strategy for one of their favorite board games on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.