Summer Crossword Puzzle on Olympic Sports

Summer Olympics word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Summer Olympics puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our summer games unit. The kids were excited about the Olympics but only knew the big ones like swimming and running. They had no idea what words like "pommel horse," "peloton," or "repechage" meant . So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like athletics, archery, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, golf, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, rugby, sailing, shooting, skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, and wrestling . I also sprinkled in sport-specific terms like "peloton" (the main group of riders in cycling) , "pommel horse" (a gymnastics apparatus), and "repechage" (a second-chance race in rowing) to build that Olympic vocabulary .

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 skateboarding and surfing are real Olympic sports (they are now) or what a "pommel" is. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple torch, medal, and rings drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick a sport they'd want to try and write why on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.