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Weather Word Search (free printable)

A free weather word search with twenty-three words (thunder, lightning, tornado, hurricane, thermometer, forecast), a word bank and an answer key for a weather unit.

23 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

Weather Word SearchWeather Word SearchNameDateDCBLIZZARDETHYARLEIXRTHUNDEREYOISGCAWAETEFZTZUMLHIITIRHJEINYGAETANELEEEDYWLHTENOYMTTRIGOSMTETIYNPABMGNTYROHNNRAELUOSEMEURLNGAHRHFMBRHETHURRICANEEOTNWOSBKWNUTLXTAETIRKAXDBNUNSENEVNNUVONOIROWRTAMDAOAAPWNEACLOUDYDFFORECASTAEKHAOFIND THESE WORDSWEATHERSUNNYCLOUDYRAINYWINDYSNOWYSTORMYFOGGYHAILSLEETTHUNDERLIGHTNINGTORNADOHURRICANERAINBOWTHERMOMETERFORECASTTEMPERATUREHUMIDITYDROUGHTBREEZEBLIZZARDCLIMATEPuzzle 32431Free at teach.peabody.kids
Puzzle ·
Weather Word Search: answer keyWeather Word Search: answer keyEvery word to find is circled.DCBLIZZARDETHYARLEIXRTHUNDEREYOISGCAWAETEFZTZUMLHIITIRHJEINYGAETANELEEEDYWLHTENOYMTTRIGOSMTETIYNPABMGNTYROHNNRAELUOSEMEURLNGAHRHFMBRHETHURRICANEEOTNWOSBKWNUTLXTAETIRKAXDBNUNSENEVNNUVONOIROWRTAMDAOAAPWNEACLOUDYDFFORECASTAEKHAOPuzzle 32431Free at teach.peabody.kids
Answer key ·

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

All 23 words are in the grid, and each one appears once.

About this set

Twenty-three weather words in a 15 by 15 grid. The grid covers the kinds of weather (sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy, snowy, stormy, foggy), what falls from the sky (hail, sleet, rain, snow), what a storm does (thunder, lightning, tornado, hurricane, blizzard) and the words of measurement and prediction (thermometer, temperature, humidity, forecast, climate). Thermometer and temperature are eleven letters and Hurricane is nine, so the puzzle works for fourth graders; first graders can start with the short words (hail, sleet, breeze) and the word bank. It pairs well with the weather bingo cards and the weather crossword.

Grades: 1st to 5th grade. Best in: September, March, April.

The words to find

Weather · Sunny · Cloudy · Rainy · Windy · Snowy · Stormy · Foggy · Hail · Sleet · Thunder · Lightning · Tornado · Hurricane · Rainbow · Thermometer · Forecast · Temperature · Humidity · Drought · Breeze · Blizzard · Climate

How to use it: five ideas

  1. Today’s weather: students circle the word that describes today’s weather in red and the one from yesterday in blue.
  2. Sort by season: after solving, students decide which weather words fit which season and write them under four headings.
  3. Weather watchers: each student chooses a word and draws a picture of it for a class weather book.
  4. Forecast writing: students use three words from the puzzle to write a two-sentence weather report to read aloud like a meteorologist.
  5. Quick science review: use it as a five-minute warm-up on the day a weather unit starts or ends.

Related

Questions

Is this puzzle set up for a school with no extreme weather?

Yes. The words are general, and you can delete tornado, hurricane or drought from the box if they do not apply where you live, and the puzzle rebuilds.

Can I make a puzzle with only the instruments?

Yes. Replace the list with thermometer, barometer, anemometer, rain gauge and wind vane, and pick a small grid, such as 10 by 10, for a short unit puzzle.

Can I change the words or the difficulty?

Yes. Edit the 23 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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