Groundbreaking Athletes word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Groundbreaking Athletes word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this groundbreaking athletes puzzle set for my 4th graders during our biography and sports unit. The kids could name a few superstars like LeBron and Serena, but they had no idea about the athletes who broke barriers in their sports, from breaking the color barrier in baseball or tennis to winning gold in the face of adversity. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using names like Jackie Robinson, Althea Gibson, Jesse Owens, Serena Williams, Usain Bolt, and Katherine Switzer. I also included key terms like record, groundbreaking, legendary, and courage because they come up in every conversation about athletes who changed the game .

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 whether it's harder to break a record or be the first to do something, and they always have opinions about who the "greatest" is . The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've watched short biographies. I added a couple simple trophy, star, and running shoe drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick one athlete from the puzzle and write one fact about what they achieved on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.