Time Zones word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Time Zones word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this time zones puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our geography unit. The kids could not understand why their grandma on the west coast ate dinner two hours after they did. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like time zone, longitude, prime meridian, Greenwich, standard time, daylight saving, hour, east, west, ahead, behind, Earth, rotation, and international date line. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the concept finally make sense.

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 who is ahead, New York or California. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple clock and globe drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers figure out what time it is in three different cities on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.