Grade 4 Decimals word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Grade 4 Decimals word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this decimals puzzle set for my 4th graders during our math unit. The kids could read whole numbers but had no idea what a decimal point was or what tenths and hundredths meant when we started working with decimals. They also kept mixing up the place values and how to compare them. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like decimal, decimal point, tenths, hundredths, thousandths, place value, fraction, equivalent, compare, greater than, less than, whole number, part, and base ten . Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the 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 independent practice. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about the spelling of "hundredths" or whether 0.5 and 0.50 are the same thing (they are — they always have opinions about it) . The crossword I use for partners or as a review, and I usually have a place value chart or decimal grid nearby for the kids who need the visual support to see the relationship between fractions and decimals . I added a couple simple decimal grids and money drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 4th through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write 0.35 in words as "thirty-five hundredths" on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.