People who changed the world
History is full of brave people who stood up for what's right, and this word search gathers many of them. You'll be finding civil-rights leaders like KING, PARKS and DOUGLASS, peace champions like GANDHI and MANDELA, and young campaigners like MALALA and THUNBERG.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the roll call changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a longer-word challenge once the diagonals and backwards words appear on Hard.
Campaigners for rights, peace and the planet
These changemakers fought for all kinds of causes, and the words are here. There are women's-rights pioneers like ANTHONY, PANKHURST, STEINEM and FRIEDAN, anti-slavery heroes like TUBMAN, TRUTH and WELLS, champions of the natural world like GOODALL and CARSON, and campaigners against injustice like CHAVEZ, TUTU, BIKO, KELLER, SEACOLE and the writer PAINE.
Small acts that sparked big change
What's remarkable about activists is how often one brave act changed history. In 1955 Rosa PARKS refused to give up her bus seat, helping spark the American civil-rights movement that Martin Luther KING then led with powerful, peaceful protest. Harriet TUBMAN risked her life again and again to guide enslaved people to freedom; and Emmeline PANKHURST and Susan B. ANTHONY fought so that women could vote — a right we now take for granted.
Many of these heroes were astonishingly young or faced huge danger. MALALA Yousafzai stood up for girls' education as a schoolgirl and survived being attacked for it, becoming the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner; Greta THUNBERG began her climate strike alone outside her school at fifteen. Their stories show that you don't have to be powerful or grown-up to make a difference — just brave and determined. That's exactly why activists make such an inspiring fit for a citizenship or history topic, or a biography project.
Great for a citizenship topic
It's a great fit for a citizenship or history topic, or a biography project — we use short, well-known names, and Easy mode uses a small grid with no diagonals or reverse words. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use Make Your Own to build a grid from your own list of changemakers.
Frequently asked questions
Which activists are in the word search?
Campaigners who changed the world — King, Gandhi, Mandela, Parks, Malala, Tubman, Thunberg and more, fighting for rights, peace and the planet. Each puzzle uses a fresh selection.
What causes did they fight for?
Civil rights with KING, PARKS and DOUGLASS, peace with GANDHI and MANDELA, women's rights with ANTHONY, PANKHURST and STEINEM, anti-slavery with TUBMAN and TRUTH, and the planet with GOODALL, CARSON and THUNBERG.
Is it good for a citizenship topic?
Great fit for a citizenship or history topic, or a biography project. We use short, well-known names, and Easy mode uses a small grid with no diagonals or reverse words.