Pacific Islander Culture word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Pacific Islander Culture word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Pacific Islander culture puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our global studies unit. The kids could name a few things like Samoa or Hawaii, but they had no idea what words like Pasifika, tapa, or tapu meant when we started exploring the rich cultures across Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia . So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Pacific, Pasifika, Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Hawaii, Aotearoa, tapa (barkcloth), tatau (tattoo), mana, tapu, umu (earth oven), motu (island), and navigation. I also threw in a few like Mere Kirihimete and Meri Kirihimete because the kids always ask about holiday greetings in different cultures .

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 tapa and kapa are the same thing (they are—it's just a regional pronunciation difference between Samoa and Hawaii) . The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've looked at pictures of Polynesian voyaging canoes, tapa cloth designs, and tattoo traditions . I added a couple simple tapa pattern, tattoo design, and double-hulled canoe 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 or write a sentence about what it means on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.