Women in Science word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Women in Science word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this "Women in Science" puzzle set for my 4th graders during our biography unit and Women's History Month. The kids could name Marie Curie and maybe Mae Jemison, but they had no idea about the incredible range of women who have shaped science for centuries—from ancient times to the present. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using names like Marie Curie (radioactivity pioneer and the first person to win two Nobels in different sciences), Ada Lovelace (often called the world's first computer programmer), Lise Meitner (physicist who co-discovered nuclear fission but was overlooked for the Nobel Prize), Katherine Johnson (NASA mathematician whose calculations guided Apollo missions), and Rosalind Franklin (whose X-ray diffraction image revealed the structure of DNA) . I also threw in a few like Mae Jemison (first Black woman in space) and Rachel Carson (whose book Silent Spring helped launch the environmental movement) because they always come up in our class discussions . 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 or independent practice. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about the spelling of "Jocelyn" or whether "Bell Burnell" is one name or two (Bell Burnell is her full hyphenated surname, but the kids always ask). The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've watched a few short biographies . I added a couple simple star, test tube, and periodic table drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 4th through 6th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers pick one scientist from the puzzles and write one fact about her on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.