World Earth Day word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

World Earth Day word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this World Earth Day puzzle set for my 2nd and 3rd graders during our April unit. The kids had heard of Earth Day but had no idea what words like environment, conservation, or recycling meant when we talked about caring for our planet. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like Earth, planet, environment, conserve, recycle, reduce, reuse, protect, nature, water, air, tree, plant, clean, and April. Nothing fancy — just puzzles to help the Earth Day 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 indoor recess. The scramble gets them talking because they argue about whether recycling is the most important way to help the Earth. The crossword I use for partners or as a review. I added a couple simple Earth, tree, and recycling symbol drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 2nd through 4th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write one way they can help the Earth on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.