This Thanksgiving hidden words word search puzzle engages students' brains and fosters a collaborative classroom as they work together to solve the puzzle. Available in both printable and Google Slides™ versions.
Puzzle helps:
-support fine motor skills development and visual acuity
-engage critical thinking skills
-improve working memory skills
Include this puzzle in:
-distance, blended, independent, and differentiated classrooms
-in-person classrooms
-homeschooling environments
-tutoring
Solve the printable version of this puzzle
-download and print the puzzle
-brainstorm possible words that could be hidden in the grid
-locate words hidden in the grid and trace the letter paths
-record the list of words in the space below the grid
Solve the Google Slides™ version of the puzzle
-copy the file to the computer
-brainstorm possible words that could be hidden in the grid
-locate words hidden in the grid
-use the line tool (or the shapes tool with color set to transparent) to trace the letter paths for each word
-use the text tool to record the list of words in the space below the grid
Creative ideas for solving the puzzle:
~ have teams of 2-3 students work together to solve the puzzle
~ brainstorm ideas of possible words that might be hidden in the grid
~ practise solving other word search puzzles (with puzzle clues) to get the brain used to searching for hidden words
Creative lesson plan activities with the recorded word list:
~ substitute one letter for another and create cryptolists or create a cryptogram
~ have students create their own word search puzzles to exchange with friend and solve
~ substitute the letters A-Z with numbers (eg. 1-26) and then create math activities by substituting each letter with the corresponding number and then perform operations (eg. add, multiply)
~ put words in reverse alphabetical order
~ use words as writing prompts (poetry, nonsense verse, adventure story, procedural writing (e.g. how to carve a pumpkin)
) 
