Fable Characters and Morals word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this fable characters and morals puzzle set for my 2nd and 3rd graders during our reading unit. The kids loved Aesop's fables but had no idea what words like fable, moral, or lesson meant when we talked about what the story teaches us. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like fable, moral, lesson, tortoise, hare, lion, mouse, ant, grasshopper, and clever. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the fable 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 "slow and steady wins the race" is a moral or just advice. The crossword I use for partners or as a review. I added a couple simple tortoise, hare, and mouse drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 2nd through 4th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write a fable moral in their own words on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.

Bring one fable to life with these Tortoise and the Hare storytelling activities.