Famous Paintings word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Famous Paintings word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this famous paintings puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our art unit. The kids could name a few famous artworks like the Mona Lisa, but had no idea about other iconic paintings or who painted them . So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Mona Lisa, Starry Night, The Scream, American Gothic, The Last Supper, Water Lilies, The Persistence of Memory, and Nighthawks, along with artist names like da Vinci, Van Gogh, Munch, Wood, and Dalí . Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the painting names and artists finally stick.

The PDF is four pages. Three puzzles plus one answer key page. The word search works well for quiet time after art class or indoor recess. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about who painted Starry Night or whether The Scream is a painting or a person. The crossword I use for partners or as a review before a quiz. I added a couple simple paint palette, brush, and star drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick one painting and write one fact about it on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.