How it works
This Australia word search opens on 16 of 24 favorites, Uluru and Billabong among them. Six lists split the country for a unit, from states and cities to First Peoples and bush life.
Read the full guide
One list per lesson
Under Start from a list, Australian States and Cities holds 27 places, Australian Mammals 21 words, Birds, Reptiles and Plants 24, Outback and Landmarks 34, First Peoples and History 24 and Bush Life and Symbols 17. The map lesson gets Canberra and Kalgoorlie, the animal lesson Quokka and Numbat.
Clues for a research task
Tick Show clues, not words, in More options. Pupils read "Mammal that lays eggs; only five species are alive today, the platypus and four echidnas", work out Monotreme, then find it in the grid. With clues on the sheet, 8 or 12 words is plenty.
- Australia itself is not hidden: it reads inside SOUTHAUSTRALIA. Tasmanian Devil is out too, because TASMANIA sits inside it.
- New South Wales, School of the Air and K'gari are hidden as NEWSOUTHWALES, SCHOOLOFTHEAIR and KGARI. Tell pupils first.
- Easy Australia holds 19 short words, Emu, Joey, Mob and Bilby among them.
Questions and answers
Which Australian animals are in the word search?
Australian Mammals holds 21 words, from Kangaroo, Koala and Wombat to Quokka, Numbat, Quoll and Pademelon. Birds, Reptiles and Plants adds Emu, Kookaburra, Cassowary and Goanna. For animals from the rest of the world, print the animal word search.
Why are Western Australia and the Northern Territory missing?
The grid hides words of up to 14 letters. Western Australia has 16 and Northern Territory 17, so neither fits, but their capitals, Perth and Darwin, are in. Great Barrier Reef has 16 too, so the grid hides BARRIERREEF.
Which Aboriginal names and words are in the puzzle?
First Peoples and History names 10 peoples, among them the Eora around Sydney, the Kaurna of the Adelaide Plains and the Pitjantjatjara, to whom Uluru is sacred. Each clue says where that people's country lies. Kookaburra comes from a Wiradjuri word.
How do I make the Australia word search harder?
Click Hard Australia, the 96 words of 8 letters or more, such as Kosciuszko, Budgerigar and Pitjantjatjara. Press Hard and words run in all 8 directions. Sixteen fit the opening grid; at 20, the line under the list says if one was left out.