Puzzles for Teachers
Browse an extensive collection of printable puzzles, brain teasers, mazes, crosswords, digital activities and a whole lot more to challenge your elementary students in fresh and fun ways!
This teaching resource collection is teacher-created, with curriculum-aligned and editable resources available for both lesson planning and adding to your fast finisher activity box or sub binder!
Curious about using puzzles in your classroom or looking for fresh ideas? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
Types of Puzzles
There's a whole host of puzzles out there you can use to get your students more engaged in learning, develop problem-solving skills, and reinforce the concepts you're teaching! Here are a few favorites from our teacher team (and you'll find printable versions of many of these in this collection)!
- Picture puzzles — Picture puzzles are a great teaching tool that require kids to use visual perception and problem-solving skills to identify patterns or differences in a set of pictures.
- Crossword puzzles — Often used by adults, these puzzles are kid-friendly too! They offer up written clues and require students to fill in a grid with words that intersect with each other.
- Tangram puzzles — These challenging puzzles for kids involve using a set of geometric shapes to create a larger picture or design.
- Logic puzzles — This learning tool requires kids to use reasoning and deduction to solve a problem. They usually involve a set of clues that need to be used to figure out the solution.
- Word searches — In this type of puzzle, a grid of letters is given with a list of words to find hidden within it. Students are challenged to go on the hunt for the word, often reading up, down, diagonally, and sometimes even backward!
- Spot the difference — A popular feature in kids' magazines, these require our students to find the differences between two nearly identical pictures.
- Sequence puzzles — Sequence puzzles involve arranging a series of objects or symbols in a particular order, based on a set of rules or patterns. For example, students may practice skip counting as they place puzzle pieces in order based on the numbers displayed on each piece.
- Maze puzzles — Yes, mazes count as puzzles! They challenge kids to find their way through a maze to reach a goal or endpoint.
- Matching games — This is another type of puzzle you may not think of as a puzzle per se, but it is! Matching games involve finding pairs of matching items, such as shapes, colors, or numbers, in a set of cards or objects.
- Tarsia puzzles — Similar to jigsaw puzzles, tarsia puzzles are made up of irregularly shaped pieces that fit together in a specific way to form a larger picture or pattern. This type of puzzle has a twist, however! In a Tarsia puzzle, each piece contains a problem or question related to a particular topic or subject area. The students must match the pieces together by finding the correct answer or solution to each problem or question. Once all the pieces have been matched, they form a larger picture or pattern that provides a visual representation of the topic or concept being studied.
How Do You Use Puzzles in the Classroom?
Whether you're using mazes to teach math or crossword puzzles in your reading centers, this is a versatile learning tool! Here are a few of the times they can come in handy:
- Introducing new concepts
- Reviewing concepts students have learned
- Reinforcing problem-solving skills
- Collaborative learning
- Learning through play
- Differentiated instruction
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Goods and Services Word Search
Stretch your students’ vocabulary and reading skills with this economics-focused word search that features examples of goods and services.
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Math Mazes - Addition and Subtraction
A set of puzzling mazes that require addition and subtraction skills to solve.
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Adverb Crossword – Worksheet
A crossword for students to review different adverbs.
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Seasonal Changes Differentiated Word Search
Get your students’ minds buzzing with this word search seasons activity, while they build their scientific vocabulary about Earth and space sciences.
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2 Digit Place Value Puzzles
Teach students the different representations of 2-digit numbers with this place value puzzle.
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Homophones Word Searches
Immerse your students in common homophones with this differentiated set of homophones word searches for your vocabulary lessons.
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Fire Safety - Printable Word Find
Kick off Fire Prevention Week and explore fire-related vocabulary words with an engaging fire safety word search activity.
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Science Word Search - Lower Grades
Build your primary grade students’ vocabulary around the topic of innovation and invention with a word search worksheet.
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Innovate and Invent! Science Word Search
Build your students’ vocabulary around the topics of innovation and invention with a word search worksheet.
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Natural Disasters – Printable Puzzles for 3rd Grade
Match pictures and facts of various natural disasters with this set of printable science puzzles.
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Integer Number Sentences - Tarsia Puzzle
Practice solving addition and subtraction number sentences involving integers with a printable Tarsia puzzle!
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Cooperation Word Search
Review vocabulary and boost your students’ cooperative interaction skills with a word search worksheet.
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Prefix Puzzles - Printable Reading Center
Grow your students’ vocabularies with an engaging prefix puzzle activity.
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Prefixes and Suffixes Word Search
Practice identifying the meanings of words containing prefixes and suffixes with a fun word search activity.
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Adding and Subtracting Integers - Codebreaker Worksheets
Crack the positive and negative number code with four adding and subtracting integers worksheets.
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Equivalent Fractions – Differentiated Math Mazes
Practice your understanding of equivalent fractions with this set of differentiated math mazes.
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Natural Resources Word Search
Review the different natural resources with a word search.
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Basketball Word Search - Printable
Get ready for the big game with a fun basketball word search.
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Long I Words - Word Search
Explore words containing some of the most common “long i” spelling patterns with this set of differentiated word searches.
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Long U Words - Word Search
Explore words containing some of the most common “long u” graphemes with this set of differentiated word searches.
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Long O Words - Word Search
Explore words containing some of the most common “long o” graphemes with this set of differentiated word searches.
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Short OO Words — Word Search
Explore words containing some of the most common “short oo” graphemes with this set of differentiated word searches.
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Word Search - Memorial Day Words for Upper Grades
Build vocabulary skills with this Memorial Day word search for upper grades.
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Westward Expansion Word Search
Increase academic vocabulary with a Westward Expansion word search.
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Math Mazes (Equivalent Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages)
Determine equivalent fractions, decimals, and percentages with this puzzling math maze.
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Simple Connect the Dots Worksheets - Counting By Ones
Download fun connect the dots printable worksheets to use when learning to count by 1s.
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Mini-Mystery – Who Won the Race?
A fun, logic-based activity where students read clues to solve a mystery.
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Mini-Mystery – Who Drank the Teacher's Coffee?
A fun, logic-based activity where students read clues to solve the mystery.
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Uppercase and Lowercase Letter Maze - 'Xx'
A fun maze to use when learning how to identify uppercase and lowercase letters.
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Uppercase and Lowercase Letter Maze - 'Tt'
A fun maze to use when learning how to identify uppercase and lowercase letters.
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Uppercase and Lowercase Letter Maze - 'Jj'
A fun maze to use when learning how to identify uppercase and lowercase letters.
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Where Do I Sit? – Logic Puzzle – Level 2
A worksheet for students to identify where people are sitting in a video chat.