Fairy Tale Character Types word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Fairy Tale Character Types word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this fairy tale character types puzzle set for my 2nd and 3rd graders during our reading unit. The kids loved Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk but had no idea what words like hero, villain, or magical helper meant when we talked about the characters in fairy tales. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like hero, villain, princess, prince, king, queen, magical helper, witch, fairy, and evil. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the fairy tale character 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 the wolf is a villain or just hungry. The crossword I use for partners or as a review. I added a couple simple crown, wand, and wolf drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 2nd through 4th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write a fairy tale character description using three words from the puzzle on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.