Vietnam War word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Vietnam War word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this Vietnam War puzzle set for my 5th graders during our modern history unit. The kids had heard of the war but had no idea why the US got involved or what words like guerrilla or veteran meant. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Vietnam, war, communist, democracy, soldier, guerrilla, jungle, helicopter, protest, draft, veteran, memorial, wall, Saigon, and peace. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the key vocabulary finally click.

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 why the Vietnam War was different from World War II. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple helicopter and memorial wall drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write one fact about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.