Black History Month Word Search, Large Print (Free)

February is Black History Month. Heritage and History is a 13 x 13 large print word search with 15 words (jazz, blues, gospel, Harlem, inventors, athletes) running across, down and diagonally but never backwards.

Great Lives is the harder Black History Month word search: a 15 x 15 grid of names everyone knows, from Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Jesse Owens to Ella, Satchmo, Duke, Aretha and Mahalia, hidden in every direction, backwards included. Both answer keys are included.

See also our MLK Day word search and the February activities for seniors guide.

How activity directors use it

The names in Great Lives are a ready-made program: after the puzzle, play a recording by each musician on the list, or read a short poem by Langston Hughes or Maya Angelou. Ask residents which of these names they remember hearing about first, and where they were at the time.

Printing and sharing

Printing tip: when the print window opens, choose Actual size or 100% so the letters print as large as they were made (every letter is at least 16 point). Make as many copies as you need for your family, residents or group.

Newsletter editors: you are welcome to reprint these puzzles in a free senior center, library, church or community newsletter, as long as the credit line at the foot of the page stays on. Please don't sell them or post the PDF files elsewhere; link to this page instead. Want puzzles sized for your layout every issue? See free puzzles for your newsletter.