Crosswords and word scramblesMath vocabulary
Math crossword
A crossword drawn from a list of 32 math vocabulary words, from add and sum to denominator and probability. It suits upper elementary and middle school review.
- Type your details or print blank
- Answer key on its own page
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
Math has its own vocabulary, and students who can name a concept often find it easier to talk and write about it. This crossword turns that vocabulary into a puzzle with short, plain definitions as the clues.
What prints
The page is titled "Math Words Crossword" and opens with a direction to fill one letter per box. The grid shows only the squares used by answers, with a small number in each starting square. Below it, the Across and Down lists give clues like "Distance around a shape (9)" and "Bottom number in a fraction (11)". The number in brackets is the length of the answer, which helps with words such as PERIMETER and DENOMINATOR.
Page two is the answer key with every letter filled in. Words that could not cross another are noted at the foot of the key.
The settings
- Title (optional): type a unit name here if you like; the limit is 40 characters.
- Theme: opens on Math Words. You can switch to Science Words or any other theme.
- Number of words: anywhere from 6 to 20; this page starts at 12.
- Word length: "Any length" (the default here) or "Short words (easier)", which keeps ADD, SUM, PLUS, ZERO, ODD, EVEN, HALF, AREA, LINE, ANGLE, CUBE, CONE and similar words of seven letters or fewer.
- Word bank: toggle for an alphabetical list of the answers.
What the word list covers
The list mixes arithmetic words (add, sum, product, remainder), number words (integer, decimal, percent, factor), geometry words (angle, radius, perimeter, hypotenuse, rectangle, volume) and a few statistics and algebra words (median, probability, equation). A given puzzle picks a random selection, so one print may be heavy on geometry and another on operations. The clues describe, they do not give a worked problem, so the sheet checks vocabulary, not computation.
The Common Core mathematics standards put precise language and mathematical vocabulary at the heart of the practices students are expected to build. A crossword is a gentle way to rehearse that language before a test.
Worked example: a unit-test warm-up
Mr. Haddad teaches sixth grade and has a geometry test on Friday. On Wednesday he opens the page, sets the count to 14, turns the word bank on and prints a class set. Students work in pairs for ten minutes, and he walks around asking them to explain any answer they wrote in, such as why a RADIUS is the distance from the center and not across the full circle.
One pair gets stuck on "Longest side of a right triangle (10)". The bank gives them HYPOTENUSE, and the count of letters matches. Afterward, he gives the students the math word search for early finishers and assigns the multiplication and division word problems as homework.
Tips
Use the word bank for newer vocabulary and turn it off for review. Press New puzzle to hand different partners different layouts. Keep the key for yourself, since it shows each answer.
Sources
- Common Core State Standards Initiative: Mathematics corestandards.org