John F Kennedy Word Search

Recognise fifteen names and terms tied to John F Kennedy in written form, including the family names Robert, Ted and Jackie

Track words running forwards, backwards, vertically and diagonally through a letter grid rather than in one fixed reading direction

Hold a two-word entry such as BAY OF PIGS or ATTORNEY GENERAL as a single unbroken run of letters while searching

Nothing on the sheet defines the terms, so pairing the grid with a short reading or a matching task is what turns finding a word into knowing what it means

PEARL HARBOR and PATROL TORPEDO come from Kennedy's wartime years rather than his presidency; a class that has met him only as president will want that context before starting

The Word copies open for retyping, which is the route to changing the title, the instruction line or the header for a particular class

The header takes Name, Date, Period and A#, which fits a secondary timetable and makes the sheet easy to collect as a starter or a settler

Print from the student copy when handing out — the teacher copy carries the solved grid immediately behind the puzzle

Visual word scanning — fifteen terms sit in a 15 by 15 grid under the instruction that words are hidden in every direction, so students search forwards, backwards and diagonally.

Kennedy-era vocabulary recognition — the list puts family names (JOHN, ROBERT, TED, JACKIE) beside places and events (CUBA, BAY OF PIGS, PEARL HARBOR, HARVARD) and roles (SENATOR, ATTORNEY GENERAL).

Handling multi-word entries — ATTORNEY GENERAL, BAY OF PIGS, PATROL TORPEDO, PEACE CORPS and PEARL HARBOR each run unbroken through the grid despite being two words on the list.

Checking finished work — the teacher copy's Solution Key reproduces the grid with unused letters replaced by plus signs, so a completed puzzle can be checked square by square.