The Maya Civilization word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

The Maya Civilization word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Maya civilization puzzle set for my 4th graders during our world history unit. The kids had heard of the Aztecs and Incas but knew very little about the Maya or their achievements. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Maya, Yucatan, pyramid, temple, calendar, glyph, writing, mathematics, zero, astronomy, observatory, city-state, king, sacrifice, and ancient. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the vocabulary finally stick.

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 the Maya calendar predicted the end of the world. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple pyramid and glyph drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 4th through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write one Maya achievement on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.