Emotions and Feelings word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this emotions puzzle set for my 1st and 2nd graders during our social-emotional learning unit. The kids could say happy or sad but had no idea how to name more complex feelings like frustrated, nervous, or left out. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like happy, sad, mad, angry, scared, afraid, worried, nervous, excited, surprised, confused, lonely, left out, frustrated, jealous, proud, calm, relaxed, tired, silly, and loved. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the feeling words 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 being nervous feels different from being scared. The crossword I use for partners with face clues. I added a couple simple emotion face drawings like smile, frown, and worried but nothing too busy.

Works for K through 3rd grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers draw a face showing an emotion and name it on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.