Women in Sports word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

Women in Sports word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this women in sports puzzle set for my 4th graders during our biography unit and Women's History Month. The kids could name Serena Williams and maybe Simone Biles, but they had no idea about the incredible range of female athletes who have broken barriers in sports from tennis to track to figure skating. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using names like Serena Williams (tennis icon with 23 Grand Slam singles titles), Simone Biles (the most decorated American gymnast in history with 30 World Championship medals), Katie Ledecky (swimmer with 7 Olympic and 21 World Championship gold medals), Wilma Rudolph (track star who overcame polio to win three Olympic golds in 1960), and Megan Rapinoe (soccer legend and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom). I also threw in trailblazers like Althea Gibson (the first Black athlete to cross the color line in tennis), Billie Jean King (who famously won the "Battle of the Sexes"), Nadia Comaneci (the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics), and Babe Didrikson Zaharias (who excelled in golf, baseball, and track), plus a few others like Gabby Douglas and Mia Hamm because the kids always ask. I also added a couple of terms like "Title IX" and "Fierce Five" because they come up in our discussions about equality in sports.

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 how to spell "Komaneci" or whether "Babe Didrikson" was actually a woman (she was, and they always find her nickname fascinating). The crossword I use for partners or as a review after we've watched a few short video biographies in class. I added a couple simple tennis racket, gymnast silhouette, and soccer ball drawings but nothing too busy.

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