Designed for beginning readers
Most word searches are too hard for five-year-olds: the letters are small, the words are long and they run in every direction. This one is different. It uses an 8 × 8 grid with big letters and eight three-letter words like cat, sun and bus. Words only run across and down, so children can scan the same way they read.
Why CVC words
Consonant-vowel-consonant words are usually the first words kindergarteners learn to sound out. Hunting for "c-a-t" letter by letter reinforces left-to-right tracking and letter recognition at the same time. Say the word together, find the first letter, then check the next two.
Make it match your phonics unit
Replace the list with this week's words: short-a words, sight words like "the" or "and", or your students' names. Keep words to three or four letters and no more than eight of them, so every child can finish and feel successful.
Tips
- Let children colour each found word with a different crayon.
- Read the word list aloud first; pre-readers can match letter shapes.
- Ready for more? Try the Christmas or Thanksgiving puzzles on Easy with a 10 × 10 grid.