Mental Health Word Search, Scramble, and Crossword

Mental Health Vocabulary word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this mental health puzzle set for my 4th and 5th graders during our health and wellness unit. The kids could talk about being happy or sad but had no idea what words like emotion, stress, or coping meant. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like emotion, feeling, happy, sad, angry, worried, scared, stress, calm, relax, breathe, coping, strategy, talk, share, listen, friend, family, teacher, counselor, help, safe, and healthy. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the mental health vocabulary finally stick in a gentle way.

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 it's okay to feel angry sometimes. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple smiley face, calm cloud, and breathing drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 4th through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers name one coping strategy they can use when feeling stressed on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.