Musical Instruments word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Musical Instruments word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this musical instruments puzzle set for my 2nd and 3rd graders during our music unit. The kids could name a few instruments like guitar and drums but had no idea what words like violin, flute, or cymbals meant when I tried to classify them as strings, woodwinds, brass, or percussion. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like guitar, violin, cello, piano, trumpet, trombone, tuba, flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, bassoon, drums, cymbals, xylophone, tambourine, harp, organ, and banjo. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the instrument 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 music class. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether a piano is a string or percussion instrument. The crossword I use for partners or as a review. I added a couple simple instrument outline drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 2nd through 4th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers name one instrument from each instrument family on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.