Historical Fiction Vocabulary word search, scramble and crossword puzz

Historical Fiction Vocabulary word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this historical fiction vocabulary puzzle set for my 4th graders during our reading and writing unit. The kids could enjoy stories set in the past but had no idea what words like historical, timeline, or settler meant when we talked about historical fiction. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like historical, timeline, settler, pioneer, colony, soldier, civil war, immigrant, explorer, and artifact. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the historical fiction 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 indoor recess. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether a pioneer and settler are the same thing. The crossword I use for partners or as a review. I added a couple simple wagon, hat, and artifact drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 4th through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write a short historical fiction story using three words from the puzzle on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.