Latitude and Longitude word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this latitude and longitude puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our map skills unit. The kids could find north and south but had no idea what those number lines on the side of a map actually meant. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like latitude, longitude, equator, prime meridian, parallel, meridian, degrees, north, south, east, west, hemisphere, grid, coordinate, and absolute location. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the vocabulary finally click.

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 latitude lines go up and down or side to side. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple globe grid drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write the approximate latitude and longitude of their town on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.

Apply the coordinate vocabulary with this map coordinates worksheet.