World War II word search, scramble and crossword puzzle

I made this World War II puzzle set for my 4th graders during our social studies unit. The kids had heard of the war but had no idea who fought whom or what words like Nazi, Allied, or D-Day meant. So I put together a word search, a word scramble, and a crossword using words like World War II, Allied Powers, Axis Powers, Nazi, Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, atomic bomb, soldier, general, Eisenhower, Churchill, Roosevelt, Hitler, and victory. 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 which event brought the US into the war. The crossword I use for partners. I added a couple simple flag and medal drawings but nothing too busy.

Works for 4th through 5th grade. Print and go. Sometimes I have early finishers write one fact about Pearl Harbor on the back. The kids actually ask for these now.