Puzzles for Teachers
Browse an extensive collection of printable puzzles, brain teasers, mazes, crosswords, digital activities and a whole lot more to challenge your primary 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!
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 favourites 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 written clues and require students to fill in a grid with words that intersect.
- 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 practise 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, colours, 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 tarsia puzzles to teach maths or crossword puzzles in your reading rotations, 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
- Free Plan
Space Word Search
Review science vocabulary terms with an engaging space word search.
- Free Plan
Persuasive Devices Word Search
Familiarise your students with the most common persuasive devices with a fun word search.
- Plus Plan
3D Objects and Their Properties - Puzzles
Explore the names and properties of some of the most common 3D shapes with this set of 8 puzzles.
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Time Conversion Maths Mazes
Convert units of time while finding your way through this set of 3 Time Conversion maths mazes.
- Plus Plan
Maths Mazes (Multiplication and Division)
Solve these mazes by manipulating numbers using multiplication and division skills.
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Adding and Subtracting Like Fractions Puzzle Pack
Get your students adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators with this set of nine fraction puzzles!
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Animal Classes Word Search Pack - Upper Years
Review vocabulary related to animal classes and characteristics of animals with a pack of printable animal classification word searches.
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12 and 24 Hour Time Worksheet - Polygon Puzzle
Engage with 12 and 24 hour time with this fun 12 and 24 hour worksheet polygon puzzle.
- Free Plan
2D Shapes and 3D Objects Crossword with Solution
A crossword with clues for both 2D shapes and 3D objects.
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Natural Disasters Word Search
Use a Natural Disasters word search to introduce your students to the vocabulary surrounding these destructive acts of nature.
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Kindness Word Search
Download a printable word search about kindness to explore this important aspect of social awareness with your students.
- Plus Plan
Number Ordering Worksheet Set (Dot-to-Dot)
Share these dot-to-dot number ordering worksheet sets with your students to give them an engaging way to practise ordering two and three-digit numbers.
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Elapsed Time - Math Maze Worksheets
Find start times, end times, and calculate duration to find your way through our Year Four Elapsed Time Maths maze worksheets.
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Adding and Subtracting Unlike Fractions Puzzle Pack
Get your students adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators with this set of nine fraction puzzles!
- Free Plan
Numbers 1-20 Puzzle Pack
Identify and sequence the numbers from 1 to 20 with a set of Numbers 1-20 puzzles for kids.
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Dot-to-Dot Worksheets – Counting by Ones
Use this set of 3 dot-to-dot worksheets to get your youngest students practising how to count by ones.
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Order of Operations – Maths Maze
Evaluate numerical expressions using the order of operations with this math maze!
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Resilience Word Search
Use this resilience word search to immerse your students in the key vocabulary related to this important social-emotional skill.
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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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Secret Code Number Line - Worksheet
Crack the number line code with five number line codebreaker worksheets to practice number identification, addition, and subtraction.
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Compound Words - Word Search Pack
Search, find, and spell compound words with a fun set of Compound Word Word Search Puzzles!
- Free Plan
Reading Is Magic! Word Search
Download this differentiated Book Week word search based on the 2024 theme, “Reading Is Magic”.
- Plus Plan
Perimeter and Area Digital Puzzles
Give students practice finding the area and perimeter of squares and rectangles with these digital area and perimeter puzzles.
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Maths Maze Worksheet Set (Ordering Numbers to 20)
Share this maths maze worksheet set with your students to give them practise ordering numbers from least to greatest.
- Plus Plan
Decimals on Number Lines – Codebreaker Worksheets
Crack the number line code with worksheets practising identification, addition, and subtraction of decimal numbers.
- Free Plan
Mini-Mystery – Which Key Opens the Door?
Use knowledge of 2-D shapes and right angles to solve the mystery in this fun, logic-based activity.
- Free Plan
Summer Word Search Puzzle
Search and spell your way into summer with a fun Summer Word Search!
- Plus Plan
Days of the Week - Months in a Year Word Search Worksheets
Practise reading and spelling the days of the week and months of the year with printable Day and Month Word Search worksheets.
- Free Plan
Free Volcano Worksheets
Download a set of free volcano worksheets to introduce your students to vocabulary and concepts related to volcanoes and volcanic disasters.
- Plus Plan
Time in Minutes - Maths Maze Worksheets
Tell time to the nearest minute while finding your way through this set of 3 Telling Time to the Minute maths mazes.
- Free Plan
OW and OU Words - Word Search
Explore words containing ‘ow’ and ‘ou’ with this set of differentiated word searches.
- Free Plan
Counting by 5's Maze
Get to the party by skip counting to 100 with our counting by 5’s worksheet.