Ten energy words hide in this two-page 4th grade word search, and they read across or down only: circuit, collision, energy, fuel, heat, light, motion, sound, speed, and transfer. Between them they touch every 4th grade energy standard, from 4-PS3-1 on speed to 4-ESS3-1 on fuels. The answer key gives the row, column, and direction for each word, such as ENERGY at Row 1, Column 1, reading left to right.
4-PS3-1
“Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.”
SPEED and MOTION, found at Row 1, Column 12 and along Row 12.
4-PS3-2
“Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.”
SOUND, LIGHT, HEAT, CIRCUIT, and TRANSFER, the words for how energy moves from place to place.
4-PS3-3
“Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.”
COLLISION, which reads down from Row 3, Column 11.
4-PS3-4
“Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.*”
ENERGY and TRANSFER give students the words for a converter task. The sheet itself has no design question.
4-ESS3-1
“Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and that their uses affect the environment.”
FUEL, which reads down from Row 8, Column 1.
Students search the letter grid for the ten words. Every word runs left to right or top to bottom, with no diagonal or backward words.
The ten targets sit under the grid in alphabetical order, from CIRCUIT to TRANSFER.
Each word has a start position and a direction. COLLISION starts at Row 3, Column 11 and reads down, and MOTION runs along Row 12.
Unit start
Hand it out on the first day of the energy unit. Students meet all ten words before your lessons start to use them.
Sentence follow-up
After the search, have students pick two found words and use both in one sentence, such as COLLISION with SPEED or FUEL with HEAT.
Substitute plan
Leave it for a substitute. The key gives exact row and column positions, so anyone can check a finished grid in seconds.
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