Grade 7 Ancient Civilizations Review word search, scramble and crosswo

Grade 7 Ancient Civilizations Review word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this ancient civilizations review puzzle set for my 7th graders during our end-of-unit review. The kids had learned about Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, and India earlier in the year, but they kept mixing up the key achievements and contributions of each civilization, especially which inventions came from China (paper, compass, gunpowder) and which came from Greece (democracy, philosophy) . So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using a mix of vocabulary from all the major civilizations: Egypt (pharaoh, pyramid, hieroglyphics, Nile), Greece (democracy, philosophy, Olympics, Parthenon), Rome (republic, senate, aqueduct, Colosseum, Pax Romana), China (dynasty, Great Wall, silk road, compass, gunpowder), India (Indus Valley, Hinduism, Buddhism, reincarnation, karma), and Mesopotamia (cuneiform, ziggurat, Hammurabi, fertile crescent) . I also threw in a few like "civilization," "empire," and "ancient" 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 or independent practice. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about the spelling of "hieroglyphics" (it's a long one) or whether cuneiform and hieroglyphics are the same thing (they're not—they always have opinions about it) . The crossword I use for partners or as a review before the test, and I usually have a chart of civilization achievements nearby for the kids who need the visual support to remember which invention came from which civilization . I added a couple simple pyramid, column, and compass drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 6th through 7th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick one civilization and write one contribution they made to the world on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.