20 Printable Classroom Games & Activities | Bostitch Office - Free Printable

Let’s solve this word search step by step.

We are given a grid of letters and a list of words to find:

Words to find:
- PEN
- PLAY
- CARING
- PENCIL
- SHARING
- CLASSROOM
- MATH
- SCIENCE
- ENGLISH
- HOMEWORK
- RECESS
- HISTORY
- MUSIC
- LEARNING

We need to locate each word in the grid — horizontally (left to right or right to left), vertically (top to bottom or bottom to top), or diagonally (if allowed — but since it’s not specified, we’ll assume only horizontal and vertical for simplicity, as most classroom word searches use those).

Let’s go one by one.

---

1. PEN

Look for “P-E-N” in order.

Scan row by row.

Row 8: T V R C O N N S R E F S P D R → no
Row 9: P I K V I Z V R P N W E L H N → has “P” at start, then “I”, not “E”
Row 10: S J P R N B J O E C I U A V I → “P” at position 3, then “R”, not “E”
Row 11: L B A Z E O S O A E O A Y H N → no
Row 12: D H U S I C S M S J T B C M G → no
Row 13: S H R E C E S H C X D F K R → “S-H-R-E-C...” — wait, look at column?

Try vertical.

Column 1: L, D, Z, X, Y, T, I, T, P, S, L, D, S → no
Column 2: W, W, X, S, U, Q, Z, H, I, J, B, H, H → no
...

Wait — let’s try row 13: S H R E C E S H C X D F K R
→ Look at positions:
Index 1: H
Index 2: R
Index 3: E
Index 4: C
No “PEN” here.

Wait — maybe row 6: T Q M O V J N C C P S M I L W
→ Has “C C P” — not helpful.

What about row 7: I Z E R K U A L G S N H I S L
→ “I-Z-E-R...” — no.

Wait — row 5: Y U O T Z E T K T I Z G W W T
→ No.

Hold on — let’s check column 14 (last column):

Row 1: O
Row 2: T
Row 3: C
Row 4: Y
Row 5: T
Row 6: W
Row 7: L
Row 8: R
Row 9: N
Row 10: I
Row 11: N
Row 12: G
Row 13: R

Not helping.

Wait — perhaps “PEN” is in row 9?

Row 9: P I K V I Z V R P N W E L H N
→ Positions:
0: P
1: I ← not E
But later: ... P N W E ... → that’s “P-N-W-E” — not “P-E-N”

Wait — what if we go backwards? Sometimes words can be reversed.

Check row 13 again: S H R E C E S H C X D F K R
→ Reverse: R K F D X C H S E C E R H S — no.

Wait — let’s try vertical.

Column 10:

Row 1: N
Row 2: U
Row 3: A
Row 4: C
Row 5: T
Row 6: C
Row 7: G
Row 8: S
Row 9: N
Row 10: E
Row 11: O
Row 12: S
Row 13: C

No.

Wait — I think I found it!

Look at row 12: D H U S I C S M S J T B C M G
→ Not there.

Wait — row 11: L B A Z E O S O A E O A Y H N
→ “Z E O” — close but not “P E N”

Wait — maybe “PEN” is part of “PENCIL”? Let’s hold off and do longer words first.

---

Actually, let’s switch strategy. Let’s look for “CLASSROOM” — it’s long, so easier to spot.

“CLASSROOM” = 9 letters.

Scan rows for 9-letter sequences.

Row 1: L W P C H E H A P L N D O H O → too short? Wait, grid is 13x15? Let me count columns.

Each row has 15 letters.

So possible.

Look for “C-L-A-S-S-R-O-O-M”

Check row 1: starts with L W P C... → after C is H, not L.

Row 2: D W O B T N T R N L U I T → no C early.

Row 3: Z X A I B Q K G N I R A C J C → has “C” at end, but before that “A C J C” — not matching.

Row 4: X S H P S H C L E M D L P Y → “H P S H C L” — no.

Row 5: Y U O T Z E T K T I Z G W W T → no C.

Row 6: T Q M O V J N C C P S M I L W → “N C C P” — not CLASSROOM.

Row 7: I Z E R K U A L G S N H I S L → no C.

Row 8: T V R C O N N S R E F S P D R → “V R C O N N S R E” — not matching.

Row 9: P I K V I Z V R P N W E L H N → no.

Row 10: S J P R N B J O E C I U A V I → “O E C I U” — no.

Row 11: L B A Z E O S O A E O A Y H N → no C until later? “S O A E O” — no.

Row 12: D H U S I C S M S J T B C M G → “U S I C S M S” — “ICSM” — not CLASSROOM.

Row 13: S H R E C E S H C X D F K R → “R E C E S H C” — “RECESHC” — almost “RECESS” + “HC”? Wait — “RECESS” is a word!

Ah! “RECESS” might be here.

In row 13: S H R E C E S H C X D F K R
Positions:
0:S, 1:H, 2:R, 3:E, 4:C, 5:E, 6:S, 7:H, 8:C,...

So from index 2 to 7: R E C E S S → that’s “RECESS”! Yes!

So RECESS is in row 13, columns 2–7 (left to right).

Great.

Now back to CLASSROOM.

Maybe vertical?

Try column 4:

Row 1: C
Row 2: B
Row 3: I
Row 4: P
Row 5: T
Row 6: V
Row 7: R
Row 8: C
Row 9: V
Row 10: R
Row 11: Z
Row 12: S
Row 13: E

No.

Column 5:

Row 1: H
Row 2: T
Row 3: B
Row 4: S
Row 5: Z
Row 6: J
Row 7: K
Row 8: O
Row 9: I
Row 10: N
Row 11: E
Row 12: I
Row 13: C

No.

Wait — perhaps “CLASSROOM” is not present? But it’s in the list. Must be there.

Another idea: maybe it’s split or diagonal? But let’s assume standard directions.

Wait — look at row 8: T V R C O N N S R E F S P D R
→ “C O N N S R E” — not CLASSROOM.

Row 6: T Q M O V J N C C P S M I L W → “N C C P S M I L W” — no.

Perhaps I missed it.

Let’s try column 3:

Row 1: P
Row 2: O
Row 3: A
Row 4: H
Row 5: O
Row 6: M
Row 7: E
Row 8: R
Row 9: K
Row 10: P
Row 11: A
Row 12: U
Row 13: R

No.

This is taking too long. Let’s try a different approach.

List all words and see which ones are obvious.

We have “MATH” — 4 letters.

Look for M-A-T-H.

Row 12: D H U S I C S M S J T B C M G
→ “S M S J T” — has M, then S, not A.

Row 6: T Q M O V J N C C P S M I L W → “Q M O” — M then O, not A.

Row 4: X S H P S H C L E M D L P Y → “E M D” — M then D.

Row 2: D W O B T N T R N L U I T → no M.

Row 1: L W P C H E H A P L N D O H O → has “H A P” — not MATH.

Vertical?

Column 12:

Row 1: D
Row 2: I
Row 3: J
Row 4: L
Row 5: G
Row 6: I
Row 7: I
Row 8: F
Row 9: E
Row 10: U
Row 11: A
Row 12: B
Row 13: F

No.

Column 11:

Row 1: N
Row 2: L
Row 3: R
Row 4: M
Row 5: Z
Row 6: S
Row 7: S
Row 8: S
Row 9: W
Row 10: I
Row 11: O
Row 12: C
Row 13: D

Row 4, col 11: M
Then row 5, col 11: Z — not A.

Not working.

Wait — row 12: D H U S I C S M S J T B C M G
→ At position 7: M
Position 8: S
Position 9: J
Position 10: T
Position 11: B
So “M S J T” — not MATH.

But “T” is at position 10. What if we go up?

Column 10:

Row 1: N
Row 2: U
Row 3: A
Row 4: C
Row 5: T
Row 6: C
Row 7: G
Row 8: S
Row 9: N
Row 10: E
Row 11: O
Row 12: S
Row 13: C

Row 5, col 10: T
Row 4, col 10: C — not A.

Row 3, col 10: A
Row 4, col 10: C — not T.

Not helping.

Let’s try “SCIENCE”.

S-C-I-E-N-C-E — 7 letters.

Look for that sequence.

Row 7: I Z E R K U A L G S N H I S L → “G S N H I S L” — has “S N H I S” — not SCIENCE.

Row 12: D H U S I C S M S J T B C M G → “U S I C S M S” — “S I C S” — close but not quite.

“S I C S” vs “S C I E N C E” — not matching.

Row 13: S H R E C E S H C X D F K R → “S H R E C E S” — “S H R E C E S” — not SCIENCE.

Vertical?

Column 1: L,D,Z,X,Y,T,I,T,P,S,L,D,S — no S-C-I...

Column 4: C,B,I,P,T,V,R,C,V,R,Z,S,E — row 1:C, row2:B, not good.

Column 5: H,T,B,S,Z,J,K,O,I,N,E,I,C — row 4:S, row5:Z, not C.

This is frustrating.

Perhaps I should look for “HOMEWORK”.

H-O-M-E-W-O-R-K — 8 letters.

Unlikely to fit in many places.

Or “LEARNING” — L-E-A-R-N-I-N-G — 8 letters.

Let’s try “ENGLISH”.

E-N-G-L-I-S-H — 7 letters.

Row 7: I Z E R K U A L G S N H I S L → “E R K U A L G” — not ENGLISH.

“L G S N H I S” — has “L G S N H I S” — not matching.

Row 1: L W P C H E H A P L N D O H O → “H E H A P L N” — “E H A” — not ENGLISH.

Wait — row 1 has “L N D O H O” — no.

Another idea: perhaps some words are written vertically.

Let’s try “PEN” again.

Suppose it’s vertical.

Column 1: L,D,Z,X,Y,T,I,T,P,S,L,D,S — row 9 is P, row 10 is S, not E.

Column 2: W,W,X,S,U,Q,Z,H,I,J,B,H,H — no P.

Column 3: P,O,A,H,O,M,E,R,K,P,A,U,R — row 1:P, row2:O, not E.

Column 4: C,B,I,P,T,V,R,C,V,R,Z,S,E — row 4:P, row5:T, not E.

Column 5: H,T,B,S,Z,J,K,O,I,N,E,I,C — row 11:E, row12:I, not N.

Column 6: E,N,Q,H,E,J,U,N,V,B,O,S,C — row 1:E, row2:N, row3:Q — not P.

Wait — column 6: row 1:E, row2:N, row3:Q — not useful.

What if “PEN” is in row 9: P I K V I Z V R P N W E L H N
→ Later: P N W E — so “P N” then “W E” — not “P E N”.

But if we take P at position 8, then N at position 9, then W at 10 — not E.

Unless it's "P" at position 0, then skip to E somewhere? No, must be consecutive.

Perhaps "PEN" is not there, but that can't be.

Let’s look at the last row again: S H R E C E S H C X D F K R
We have "RECESS" from index 2 to 7: R E C E S S

Also, "SHARING" might be related.

"SHARING" = S-H-A-R-I-N-G

In row 13: S H R E C E S H C X D F K R
Positions 0:S, 1:H, 2:R — so S H R — then E, not A.

Not SHARING.

But "SHAR" would require A after R, but it's E.

Unless it's in another row.

Row 10: S J P R N B J O E C I U A V I
→ "S J P R N" — not SHARING.

Row 11: L B A Z E O S O A E O A Y H N
→ "B A Z E O S O A" — has "A Z E" — not good.

Row 12: D H U S I C S M S J T B C M G
→ "H U S I C S M" — "U S I C S" — not SHARING.

Perhaps "SHARING" is vertical.

Column 1: L,D,Z,X,Y,T,I,T,P,S,L,D,S — row 10:S, row11:L, not H.

Column 2: W,W,X,S,U,Q,Z,H,I,J,B,H,H — row 8:H, row9:I, not A.

Column 3: P,O,A,H,O,M,E,R,K,P,A,U,R — row 3:A, row4:H, not S.

Not working.

Let’s try a new tactic. Let's list the words and see which ones are likely to be found easily.

We have "CARING" — C-A-R-I-N-G

Look for that.

Row 3: Z X A I B Q K G N I R A C J C — has "A I B Q K G N I R A C" — "R A C" at the end, but not CARING.

" I R A C J C" — not CARING.

Row 7: I Z E R K U A L G S N H I S L — "E R K U A L G" — "R K U A" — not CARING.

Row 8: T V R C O N N S R E F S P D R — "V R C O N N S R E" — "R C O" — not CARING.

Row 11: L B A Z E O S O A E O A Y H N — "B A Z E O S O A" — "A Z E" — not CARING.

Perhaps "CARING" is in row 4: X S H P S H C L E M D L P Y — "H P S H C L E" — "C L E" — not CARING.

I'm stuck.

Let’s look for "PLAY".

P-L-A-Y

Row 1: L W P C H E H A P L N D O H O — has "P C H E H A P L" — "A P L" — not PLAY.

" P L N" — P then L then N, not A.

Row 9: P I K V I Z V R P N W E L H N — "P I K" — not PLAY.

Row 10: S J P R N B J O E C I U A V I — "J P R N" — not PLAY.

Vertical?

Column 1: L,D,Z,X,Y,T,I,T,P,S,L,D,S — row 9:P, row10:S, not L.

Column 3: P,O,A,H,O,M,E,R,K,P,A,U,R — row 1:P, row2:O, not L.

Column 4: C,B,I,P,T,V,R,C,V,R,Z,S,E — row 4:P, row5:T, not L.

Not working.

Perhaps "PLAY" is in row 1: after "H A P L" — "A P L" — if we take A at position 7, P at 8, L at 9 — that's "A P L", not "P L A Y".

Close but not quite.

Unless it's "P L A Y" starting at position 8: P at 8, L at 9, then A at 10? Row 1: positions 8:P, 9:L, 10:N — not A.

So not.

Let’s try "HISTORY".

H-I-S-T-O-R-Y — 7 letters.

Row 1: L W P C H E H A P L N D O H O — has "H E H A P L N D O H O" — "H E H" — not HISTORY.

" D O H O" — not.

Row 2: D W O B T N T R N L U I T — "B T N T R N L U I T" — "T R N L U I T" — not HISTORY.

Row 3: Z X A I B Q K G N I R A C J C — "A I B Q K G N I R A C" — "I R A C" — not HISTORY.

Row 4: X S H P S H C L E M D L P Y — "S H P S H C L E M D L P Y" — "H P S H C" — not HISTORY.

Row 5: Y U O T Z E T K T I Z G W W T — "O T Z E T K T I Z G W W T" — "T Z E T K T I" — not HISTORY.

Row 6: T Q M O V J N C C P S M I L W — "Q M O V J N C C P S M I L W" — "M O V J N C C P S M I L W" — not HISTORY.

Row 7: I Z E R K U A L G S N H I S L — "Z E R K U A L G S N H I S L" — "R K U A L G S N H I S L" — "H I S L" at the end — "H I S" but then L, not T.

Not HISTORY.

Row 8: T V R C O N N S R E F S P D R — "V R C O N N S R E F S P D R" — "C O N N S R E F S P D R" — not HISTORY.

Row 9: P I K V I Z V R P N W E L H N — "I K V I Z V R P N W E L H N" — "V R P N W E L H N" — not HISTORY.

Row 10: S J P R N B J O E C I U A V I — "J P R N B J O E C I U A V I" — "R N B J O E C I U A V I" — not HISTORY.

Row 11: L B A Z E O S O A E O A Y H N — "B A Z E O S O A E O A Y H N" — "A Z E O S O A E O A Y H N" — not HISTORY.

Row 12: D H U S I C S M S J T B C M G — "H U S I C S M S J T B C M G" — "U S I C S M S J T B C M G" — "S I C S M S J T" — not HISTORY.

Row 13: S H R E C E S H C X D F K R — "H R E C E S H C X D F K R" — "R E C E S H C X D F K R" — not HISTORY.

Vertical?

Column 1: L,D,Z,X,Y,T,I,T,P,S,L,D,S — no H-I-S-T-O-R-Y.

Column 2: W,W,X,S,U,Q,Z,H,I,J,B,H,H — row 8:H, row9:I, row10:J — not S.

Column 3: P,O,A,H,O,M,E,R,K,P,A,U,R — row 4:H, row5:O, not I.

Column 4: C,B,I,P,T,V,R,C,V,R,Z,S,E — row 3:I, row4:P, not S.

Column 5: H,T,B,S,Z,J,K,O,I,N,E,I,C — row 1:H, row2:T, row3:B — not I.

Row 1 col 5: H, row 2 col 5: T, row 3 col 5: B — not I.

Not working.

I am considering that perhaps some words are written backwards or diagonally, but the problem doesn't specify, so maybe only forward horizontal and vertical.

Let’s try "MUSIC".

M-U-S-I-C — 5 letters.

Row 12: D H U S I C S M S J T B C M G — "U S I C S" — positions 2 to