Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Word Search (free printable)

A free Martin Luther King Jr. Day word search with twenty-two words, from equality and justice to Montgomery, Atlanta and Rosa Parks, with a word bank and an answer key.

25 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

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Word SearchMartin Luther King Jr. Day Word SearchNameDateSAJJZDROSAPARKSSFSARANULPEACEEMLRPSWTCOURAGERHAEEEEHLHMTOIIVFCRWEEGCAOLHSNIYAOCGDCRKNPLEDCREIMHOOHETTEWREJAQRMKYMBGUAMEKUUOUNUIILOALGAVZNSIAENNWMYTUMAAPITOLSIGEUCIEOMARTINISTRHLOOIHMOEYCATTYQOWTNXRACEEEEYWXVVGTFTLEADERESPECTAFIND THESE WORDSKINGMARTINLUTHEREQUALITYJUSTICEFREEDOMPEACEDREAMCOURAGEBOYCOTTMONTGOMERYSEGREGATIONMARCHSPEECHLEADERMINISTERUNITYFAIRNESSLOVEHOPEROSA PARKSCOMMUNITYSERVICERESPECTATLANTAPuzzle 9470Free at teach.peabody.kids
Puzzle ·
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Word Search: answer keyMartin Luther King Jr. Day Word Search:answer keyEvery word to find is circled.SAJJZDROSAPARKSSFSARANULPEACEEMLRPSWTCOURAGERHAEEEEHLHMTOIIVFCRWEEGCAOLHSNIYAOCGDCRKNPLEDCREIMHOOHETTEWREJAQRMKYMBGUAMEKUUOUNUIILOALGAVZNSIAENNWMYTUMAAPITOLSIGEUCIEOMARTINISTRHLOOIHMOEYCATTYQOWTNXRACEEEEYWXVVGTFTLEADERESPECTAPuzzle 9470Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key ·

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

All 25 words are in the grid, and each one appears once.

About this set

These twenty-two words come from the biographies and picture books that classes read in January: the man (King, Martin, Luther, minister, leader), the places (Atlanta, Montgomery), the events (boycott, march, speech), the people he worked with (Rosa Parks), and the values that he spoke about (equality, justice, freedom, peace, courage, unity, fairness, love, hope, respect, community, service). Words like segregation and Montgomery are long enough to be a real challenge, and they are words students should know before they discuss the civil rights movement. Use the puzzle after reading, not before, so the words already mean something.

Grades: 2nd to 7th grade. Best in: January.

The words to find

King · Martin · Luther · Equality · Justice · Freedom · Peace · Dream · Courage · Boycott · Montgomery · Segregation · March · Speech · Leader · Minister · Unity · Fairness · Love · Hope · Rosa Parks · Community · Service · Respect · Atlanta

How to use it: five ideas

  1. Read, then search: finish a biography of Dr. King, then let students find the words they just heard.
  2. Meaning match: students choose five words and write what each one meant to Dr. King’s work.
  3. Value sort: students sort the words into people, places, events and values.
  4. Quote link: put one of Dr. King’s well-known sentences on the board and have students find the words in it.
  5. Service plan: pick “service” and “community” from the list and brainstorm one act of service for the class.

Related

Questions

Why do some words have no spaces?

Word searches hide each word as a single run of letters, so “Rosa Parks” appears as ROSAPARKS. The word bank shows it with the space.

Is it age appropriate?

Yes. The words are about his work and values, and the list leaves out the violence of the era. For first grade, use the bingo cards with pictures from your read-aloud instead.

Can I change the words or the difficulty?

Yes. Edit the 25 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.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. Your edits stay in this browser. No sign-in, no ads.