When winter rolls in, many animals curl up for a long seasonal rest. This free printable hibernating animals word search is a great way for kids to learn all about them!
This winter word search was designed for 1st graders. It’s a fun way for young learners to practice spelling while discovering which creatures snooze their way through the cold months.
With adorable pictures and easy-to-find words, the word search is a simple but educational winter activity for the classroom or at home. Combining science with literacy skills, kids will get to work on:
- uppercase or lowercase letter recognition
- spelling
- reading these animal words (the pictures will help)
- learning about different animals that hibernate during the winter months
- concentration
You can choose from 4 different versions of the same puzzle. There’s a puzzle in capital letters, or a lowercase version. And you have the choice to print in black and white or in color.
Skill Level
This winter word search was created with 1st graders and early elementary children who are new to word searches.
It’s an easy word search, so all the words can be found horizontally (from left to right) or vertically (from top to bottom). There are no diagonal, backwards, or upside-down words.
The words to find and circle are the names of 12 hibernating animals, which are between 3 and 9 letters long. The animal words are hidden in a 13 X 11 grid of uppercase (or lowercase) large print letters. Use the lowercase version to slightly increase the difficulty level.
Above each word, there is a picture showing the word to help beginner readers.
Download and Print
Download a free digital copy of the PDF using either form below.
The PDF has 4 different versions of the puzzle. Print the page of the version you prefer. Print page number :
- color with uppercase letters
- black and white with uppercase letters
- color with lowercase letters
- black and white with lowercase letters
The last page is an answer page.
More 1st Grade Printable Winter Activities
Here are some more fun printable activities to keep kids entertained this winter:
- 1st grade winter word search with a picture for each word
- winter activities word search
- winter clothing word search
- arctic animals word search
- arctic animals color by number printables
- winter animals coloring pages with connect the dots
Answer Key
Parents and teachers will have no issue finding the words in this easy puzzle. However, to help save time when guiding a child to find a word, here is a color-coded answer:
Find more fun printable winter activities for kids here.