US State Animals word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

US State Animals word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this U.S. state animals puzzle set for my 3rd and 4th graders during our geography unit. The kids could name a few state animals like the bison and the white-tailed deer, but they had no idea how many states share the same animal or that some states have a land mammal AND a marine mammal. They also kept mixing up the state bird with the state animal. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using popular state animals like the white-tailed deer (state animal of Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, etc.), American bison (Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming), moose (Alaska, Maine), grizzly bear (California, Montana), and black bear (Louisiana, New Mexico, West Virginia). I also included the ringtail from Arizona, the coyote from South Dakota, and the beaver from New York to show some variety .

The PDF is four pages. Three puzzles plus one answer key page. The word search works well for quiet time after recess or independent practice. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether a bison and a buffalo are the same thing (they're not—bison are native to North America, buffalo are from Africa and Asia). The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've looked at a map of state symbols. I added a couple simple bison, deer, and bear drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 3rd through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick one state animal from the puzzles and write what state it represents on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.