Poisonous vs Nonpoisonous Plants word search, scramble and crossword p

Poisonous vs Nonpoisonous Plants word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this poisonous vs nonpoisonous plants puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our plant and safety unit. The kids were super curious about which plants were safe to touch or eat after we talked about poison ivy and mushrooms, so I wanted to give them a way to practice the key vocabulary. I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like toxic, nonpoisonous, edible, inedible, irritant, allergy, rash, contact, ingestion, and identification. I also included the names of a few common culprits like poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, and oleander, plus safer examples like dandelion and clover. Nothing fancy—just puzzles to help the safety vocabulary stick.

The PDF is four pages. Three puzzles plus one answer key page. The word search works well for quiet time after recess, and the scramble gets them talking because they argue about the difference between poisonous and venomous. The crossword I use for partners or as a review after a safety lesson. I added a couple simple leaf, berry, and warning symbol drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick one poisonous plant from the puzzles and draw a "don't touch" warning sign for it on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.