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Community Helpers Word Search (free printable)

A free community helpers word search with twenty-two jobs (firefighter, librarian, electrician, veterinarian, paramedic), a word bank and an answer key for a social studies unit.

22 words. “Polar bear” becomes POLARBEAR. Add a clue after a colon (“snow: white flakes”) to put clues in the bank.
Grid size
Difficulty
Up to 40 letters. They fill the first leftover squares, so the letters nobody circles spell it. On the board it flies into place when the last word is found.
Sort and find: the look-alikes hide in the grid and the word bank too, so children decide which to circle.

Use this list in: bingo cards

Community Helpers Word SearchCommunity Helpers Word SearchNameDatePCACUSTODIANTNRIAPAOGBVWFVEJEVLRLSOAWANIDSCMEOPUHTICAKRRIVDTTEMIXYIHAEFMZOEPNBERRAUHFRADCRNTERAFGCOIPFETISERRDEAELGAANONWRBUFECREHRRTRAUIEITIOGHTAMIBRLKLALYDEXEMESNILPGOAUETCRERTUAEUPMJESETHDHNRNXBELECTRICIANSIMECHANICPRCCHEFFIND THESE WORDSFIREFIGHTERPOLICE OFFICERDOCTORNURSEDENTISTTEACHERLIBRARIANPILOTBAKERFARMERMECHANICPLUMBERJUDGEMAYORCHEFLIFEGUARDPARAMEDICCUSTODIANCARPENTERVETERINARIANELECTRICIANCASHIERPuzzle 91098Free at teach.peabody.kids
Puzzle ·
Community Helpers Word Search: answer keyCommunity Helpers Word Search: answerkeyEvery word to find is circled.PCACUSTODIANTNRIAPAOGBVWFVEJEVLRLSOAWANIDSCMEOPUHTICAKRRIVDTTEMIXYIHAEFMZOEPNBERRAUHFRADCRNTERAFGCOIPFETISERRDEAELGAANONWRBUFECREHRRTRAUIEITIOGHTAMIBRLKLALYDEXEMESNILPGOAUETCRERTUAEUPMJESETHDHNRNXBELECTRICIANSIMECHANICPRCCHEFPuzzle 91098Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key ·

To save a PDF, choose Print, then “Save as PDF” as the printer. Only the sheets print.

All 22 words are in the grid, and each one appears once.

About this set

Twenty-two jobs from the community, in a 15 by 15 grid: the helpers who keep us safe (firefighter, police officer, paramedic), who care for us (doctor, nurse, dentist, veterinarian), who work at school (teacher, librarian, custodian), who build and fix (plumber, electrician, mechanic, carpenter) and who feed and serve us (farmer, baker, chef, lifeguard, pilot). Veterinarian is twelve letters and electrician and firefighter are eleven, so the longest words are a real find for third graders, while eight of the jobs have six letters or fewer for first grade. The word bank is on by default.

Grades: 1st to 4th grade. Best in: September, October, May.

The words to find

Firefighter · Police officer · Doctor · Nurse · Dentist · Teacher · Librarian · Pilot · Baker · Farmer · Mechanic · Plumber · Judge · Mayor · Chef · Lifeguard · Paramedic · Custodian · Carpenter · Veterinarian · Electrician · Cashier

How to use it: five ideas

  1. Job interview: each student picks a job from the puzzle, then asks a grown-up at home what a person in that job does all day.
  2. Tools of the trade: for five jobs, students draw one tool each helper uses and label it.
  3. Thank-you note: students choose a helper from the puzzle and write a short thank-you to someone in the school with a similar job.
  4. Alphabetical order: students copy the twenty-two jobs in alphabetical order, a good check of the second-grade skill.
  5. Class chart: after solving, the class sorts the jobs by where they work (school, hospital, fire station, on the road).

Related

Questions

Why does the list say “Police officer” and not “Policeman”?

Gender-neutral job names fit every worker and let every child picture themselves in the job. They are also the words most picture books use. In the puzzle the space is dropped and POLICEOFFICER is hidden as one word.

Can I add the helpers in our town?

Yes. Add your school’s nurse, crossing guard or custodian by name or role, and any other local jobs, to the box and the puzzle rebuilds. Up to forty words fit on a sheet.

Can I change the words or the difficulty?

Yes. Edit the 22 words in the box, choose Easy, Medium or Hard, pick a grid size from 8 to 25 and a shape, and add a secret message if you like. The puzzle rebuilds as you change it, and any word that cannot fit is listed.

Can we play it on the board?

Yes. Press “Play on the board”: the class finds words by dragging across them or tapping the first and last letters, each find plays a note, and H gives a hint. Press F to fill the projector.

How do I save it as a PDF?

Press Print and choose “Save as PDF” as the printer. The puzzle is page one and the answer key is page two.

How do I get a different layout?

Press “Make another”. The same words are placed in a new arrangement, which is handy when neighbors should not have the same puzzle.

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