Chinese Culture Vocabulary word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Chinese Culture Vocabulary word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Chinese culture vocabulary puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our global studies unit. The kids could name a few things like China and dumplings but had no idea what words like dragon dance, red envelope, or zodiac meant when we talked about Chinese traditions and celebrations. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Spring Festival, red envelope, dumpling, lantern, lion dance, dragon dance, firecracker, zodiac, mooncake, and tangyuan . I also threw in a few like reunion dinner and lucky money because the kids always ask about the food and the red packets . Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the cultural 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 or independent practice. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about the difference between a lion dance and a dragon dance or whether "dumpling" and "jiaozi" are the same thing . The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've looked at pictures of Spring Festival traditions. I added a couple simple lantern, dragon, and red envelope drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick one word from the puzzles and draw a picture of it on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.