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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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 - 'Yy'
A fun maze to use when learning how to identify uppercase and lowercase letters.
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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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Olympics Word Search – Upper Grades
An Olympic-themed word search.
- Free Plan
I Spy Oral Language Activity
Encourage the development of oral language with this fun "I Spy" activity.
- Free Plan
2D and 3D Shapes Crossword with Solution
A crossword with clues for both 2D and 3D shapes.
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Time Conversion Math Maze Worksheets
Convert units of time while finding your way through this set of 3 Time Conversion math mazes.
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Piecing Together Emotions – Puzzle Activity
Guide your students to identify the feelings and emotions of others with this social emotional learning puzzle activity.
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Dot Day Division Tarsia Puzzle
Practice dividing two-digit by one-digit numbers with a Dot Day tarsia puzzle.
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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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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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Equivalent Fractions – Differentiated Math Mazes
Practice your understanding of equivalent fractions with this set of differentiated math mazes.
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Synonyms Tarsia Puzzle
Have fun building vocabulary skills with a printable synonyms tarsia puzzle activity.
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Natural Resources Word Search
Review the different natural resources with a word search.
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Basketball Word Puzzle Worksheets
Have a bit of word-friendly fun with your sports fanatics using a pack of basketball themed worksheets.
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Long E Words - Word Search
Explore words containing some of the most common “long e” 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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OI and OY Words - Word Search
Explore words containing “oi” and “oy” with this set of differentiated word searches.
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Author's Purpose - Puzzle Activity
A teaching resource to help teach your students about author’s purpose.
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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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Counting by 10's Maze
Find the fun and learn to skip count by 10s up to 100 with this engaging maze activity!
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Mini-Mystery – Who Owns the Dog?
A fun, logic-based activity where students read clues to solve the mystery.
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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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Do YOU Have a Growth Mindset? – Word Search
Use this word search activity to show students the qualities and characteristics of creating a growth mindset in the classroom.
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Technology Maze
A fun, technology-themed maze for students to complete.
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Number Word Search with Solution - 3
A number search to help your students to learn place value.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Counting by 2 - Dinosaur
A dot-to-dot worksheet to practice counting by 2’s to 124.
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Polygon Puzzles - Division
A set of 7 polygon puzzles to practice solving division number sentences.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Alphabet - Dinosaur
Join the dots and letters to make a picture.
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Time to the Hour and Half Hour - Math Mazes
Engage your students with exciting telling time practice activities with a set of printable Time to the Hour and Half Hour Math Mazes.
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Compound Words Crossword Puzzle Pack
Boost vocabulary skills with a pack of printable Compound Word Crossword Puzzles!