Immigration in America word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Immigration in America word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this immigration puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our social studies unit. The kids knew their families came from somewhere else but had no idea what words like immigrant, Ellis Island, or Statue of Liberty meant. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like immigrant, immigration, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Europe, Asia, Mexico, journey, steerage, inspection, citizen, culture, tradition, freedom, and opportunity. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the vocabulary finally make sense.

The PDF is four pages. Three puzzles plus one answer key page. The word search works well for quiet time after recess. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple ship and statue drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write one reason why people immigrated to America on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.