Earth Day Vocabulary word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Earth Day Vocabulary word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Earth Day vocabulary puzzle set for my 2nd and 3rd graders during our April unit. The kids had heard of Earth Day but had no idea what words like recycle, conserve, or planet meant when I tried to teach them about caring for the environment. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Earth, planet, recycle, reduce, reuse, conserve, water, air, land, tree, plant, garden, clean, pollution, energy, and Earth Day. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the Earth Day 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 indoor recess. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether recycling actually helps the planet. The crossword I use for partners or as a review. I added a couple simple Earth, tree, and recycling symbol drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 2nd through 4th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write one way they can help the Earth on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.