Middle Eastern Culture Vocabulary word search, scramble and crossword

Middle Eastern Culture Vocabulary word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Middle Eastern culture vocabulary puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our global studies unit. The kids had heard of some of the big countries, but they had no idea what words like souk, hijab, or habibi meant when we started looking at everyday traditions and cultural practices. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like souk, souq, bazaar, oasis, nomad, Bedouin, mosque, imam, Koran, Ramadan, hijab, abaya, kaffiyeh, falafel, baklava, hummus, pita, habibi, sheikh, and a few more like fellahin and zaffa to show how many layers there are in regional life.

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 falafel and hummus are from the same country (they're both from the region, but kids always have strong opinions about food origins). The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've looked at photos of markets, architecture, and traditional clothing. I added a couple simple mosque, camel, and coffee pot drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick one word from the puzzles and draw a picture of it on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.