Languages of the World word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Languages of the World word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this languages of the world vocabulary puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our global studies unit. The kids could name English and Spanish but had no idea what words like Mandarin, Arabic, or Hindi meant when we explored the many languages spoken around the world. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like English, Spanish, Mandarin, Hindi, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, German, and Swahili. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the global language 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 independent practice. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether Mandarin and Chinese are the same thing (Mandarin is a dialect of Chinese). The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've looked at a world map and talked about where each language is spoken. I added a couple simple speech bubble and globe drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write "hello" in a language they speak or want to learn on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.