Tall Tales Pecos Bill word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Pecos Bill puzzle set for my 2nd and 3rd graders during our tall tales unit. The kids were fascinated by a cowboy who was raised by coyotes and rode tornadoes, but they had no idea what words like cyclone, lasso, or Widowmaker meant when we talked about the wild exaggerations of the American West . So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Pecos Bill, coyote, Texas, cyclone, lasso, rattlesnake, Widowmaker, cowboys, and Grand Canyon. I also threw in a few like Slue-Foot Sue and Death Valley because the kids always ask about Bill's adventures .

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 the spelling of "cyclone" or whether Bill's horse, Widowmaker, was really that dangerous (it was—every other rider died on him) . The crossword I use for partners, and I usually have a picture of a rattlesnake and a tornado nearby for the kids who need a visual. I added a couple simple boot, rope, and cowboy hat drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 2nd through 4th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers draw their own tall tale exaggeration on the back and label it with three words from the puzzle. The kids actually ask for these now.