Natural Resources word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Natural Resources word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this natural resources puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our Earth science unit. The kids knew trees gave us wood and the sun gave us light but couldn't tell the difference between renewable and nonrenewable. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like renewable, nonrenewable, water, air, sun, wind, coal, oil, natural gas, trees, soil, minerals, conserve, recycle, and resource. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the vocabulary 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 whether wind is renewable or not. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple sun, tree, and coal drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 2nd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers list two renewable and two nonrenewable resources on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.