Native American Tribes Word Search and Puzzles

Native American Tribes word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Native American tribes puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our social studies unit. The kids had heard of "Indians" but couldn't name any tribes or explain that different tribes lived in different regions with different homes and foods. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Sioux, Cherokee, Navajo, Iroquois, Apache, Mohawk, tribe, wigwam, tepee, longhouse, hunter, farmer, buffalo, maize, and region. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the tribe names and basic facts stick.

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 which tribe lived in tepees. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple tepee and longhouse drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers name one tribe and one fact about them on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.