Women in Leadership word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this women in leadership puzzle set for my 4th graders during our biography unit and Women's History Month. The kids could name a few leaders like Rosa Parks and Malala, but they had no idea about the breadth of leadership roles women hold—from presidents and CEOs to ambassadors and governors. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like president, CEO, leader, influencer, visionary, pioneer, strategic, inspirational, empowering, resilient, inclusive, collaborative, decisive, confident, entrepreneur, ambassador, governor, senator, manager, innovator, and heroine . I also added key terms like "advocate," "mentor," and "role model" because the kids kept asking how leaders support others and what it takes to become one .

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 "resilient" and "persistent" mean the same thing, or what a "visionary" actually does. The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've read short biographies of leaders like Kamala Harris, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Malala Yousafzai . I added a couple simple star, podium, and handshake drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 4th through 6th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick one leadership word from the puzzles and write a sentence about what it means to be a leader on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.