Famous Bridges word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Famous Bridges word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this famous bridges puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our STEM unit. The kids could name the Golden Gate Bridge and maybe the Brooklyn Bridge, but they had no idea what words like suspension, arch, or truss meant when we talked about how different bridges stay up . They also had no clue that some bridges are named after their shape, like "tower" or "gate" . So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using names of famous bridges from around the world: Golden Gate Bridge, Tower Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Rialto Bridge, and the Great Belt Bridge . I threw in a few key engineering terms like suspension and arch because they kept coming up in our class discussions.

The PDF is four pages. Three puzzles plus one answer key page. The word search works well for quiet time after recess, and the scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether the Golden Gate is in San Francisco or New York (the kids from California always win that one). The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've looked at pictures of these famous structures . I added a couple simple arch, beam, and suspension bridge drawings but nothing too busy.

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