Patterns and Textures in Art Vocabulary Puzzles

Pattern and Texture in Art word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this pattern and texture puzzle set for my 2nd and 3rd graders during our art unit. The kids could see patterns and feel textures but had no idea what words like pattern, repetition, or smooth meant when I asked them to describe what they saw. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like pattern, repetition, line, shape, color, texture, rough, smooth, bumpy, soft, hard, organic, geometric, stripe, dot, spiral, and visual texture. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the art vocabulary finally stick.

The PDF is four pages. Three puzzles plus one answer key page. The word search works well for quiet time after art class or indoor recess. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether stripes are a pattern or a texture. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple line, dot, and swirly pattern drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 2nd through 4th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers draw their own pattern on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.