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
- Plus Plan
Resilience Word Search
Use this resilience word search to immerse your students in the key vocabulary related to this important social-emotional skill.
- Plus Plan
Bowerbird Word Search
Explore the vocabulary surrounding the world of Bowerbirds with this printable word search.
- Plus Plan
Earth, Sun and Moon – Vocabulary Cards and Puzzles
Reinforce science vocabulary with this set of word wall cards and vocabulary puzzles covering the Earth, sun and moon.
- Free Plan
Maths Mazes (Place Value)
Determine the correct paths through each maze using knowledge of place value.
- Plus Plan
Cooperation Puzzles - Teamwork Activity
Explore the benefits of cooperation with a tangram-style team-building activity.
- Free Plan
Empathy Word Search
Introduce or review vocabulary terms related to empathy with this free word search worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication Array Puzzles
Guide your students to match arrays, multiplication facts and repeated addition sentences with this set of puzzles.
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Maths Mazes (Number Sequencing)
Skip count your way through these mazes that focus on number sequencing.
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Polygon Puzzles - Addition Worksheets with Answers
Line the sum up with the corresponding answer.
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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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Fractions and Decimals Number Line Puzzles
Practise identifying fractions and decimals on a number line with this set of 2- and 3-piece puzzles.
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Equivalent Fractions – Differentiated Maths Mazes
Encourage students to practise their understanding of equivalent fractions with this set of differentiated maths mazes.
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Telling Time Puzzle - Quarter Hour
A fun puzzle to use when learning how to tell the time to the quarter-hour, using the language of 'past' and 'to'
- Free Plan
Australian Map Puzzle
Help your students build understanding of the map of Australia with this interactive game.
- Plus Plan
Healthy Foods Word Search
Healthy foods made fun with this Word Search.
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Percy's Place Value Puzzle
A worksheet to use to consolidate student understanding of place value to the thousands.
- 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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Long A Words - Word Search
Explore words containing some of the most common ‘long a’ 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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Long I Words - Word Search
Explore words containing some of the most common ‘long i’ graphemes with this set of differentiated word searches.
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Prefix, Suffix and Root Words Word Search
Identify terminology related to prefixes, suffixes and root words in this word search.
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Counting by 10's Maze
Find the fun and learn to skip count by 10s up to 100 with this engaging maze activity!
- Plus Plan
2D Shape Match-up Puzzles
A set of puzzles that match up 2D shapes and their properties.
- Plus Plan
Maths Mazes (Addition and Subtraction)
A set of puzzling mazes that require addition and subtraction skills to solve.
- Plus Plan
Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 2 - Frog
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 2 - Alien
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.
- Free Plan
Dividing Decimals Maths Mazes
Review how to divide a decimal by a decimal and a whole number with this set of maths mazes.
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Dot Day Division Tarsia Puzzle
Practise dividing two-digit by one-digit numbers with a Dot Day tarsia puzzle.
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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.
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Weathering, Erosion and Deposition – Word Search
Strengthen your students' understanding of weathering, erosion and deposition terms with a vocabulary word search.
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Decimals on Number Lines – Codebreaker Worksheets
Crack the number line code with worksheets practising identification, addition, and subtraction of decimal numbers.
- Free Plan
Natural Resources Word Search
Review the different natural resources with a word search.