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
Maths Mazes (Place Value)
Determine the correct paths through each maze using knowledge of place value.
- Plus Plan
Rocks and Minerals Word Search
Introduce or review academic vocabulary with a printable Rocks and Minerals Word Search.
- Free Plan
Innovate and Invent! Science Word Search
Build your students’ vocabulary around the topics of innovation and invention with a word search worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Kindness Word Search
Download a printable word search about kindness to explore this important aspect of social awareness with your students.
- 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.
- Plus Plan
Healthy Foods Word Search
Healthy foods made fun with this Word Search.
- Plus Plan
Order and Compare Decimals Maze Set
Flex your decimal skills with this order and compare decimals maze set that features decimals out to the thousandths place.
- Plus Plan
Time Conversion Maths Mazes
Convert units of time while finding your way through this set of 3 Time Conversion maths mazes.
- Free Plan
Animal Adaptations Crossword Puzzle
Use an Animal Adaptations Crossword puzzle to review physiological, structural, and behavioural adaptation concepts.
- Plus Plan
Maths Mazes (Friends of Ten)
A set of friends of ten mazes where students find missing addends to solve the maze.
- Plus Plan
Celebrations Word Find – Worksheet
A word find with vocabulary themed around celebrations and holidays.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
Telling Time Maths Mazes - 5 Minutes
Tell time to the nearest five-minute mark and make maths fun with a printable pack of Telling Time maths mazes.
- Plus Plan
Weathering, Erosion and Deposition – Word Search
Strengthen your students' understanding of weathering, erosion and deposition terms with a vocabulary word search.
- Free Plan
Complex Dot-to-dot – Skip Counting by Twos (Car) – Worksheet
A complex dot-to-dot where students demonstrate skip counting by twos.
- Plus Plan
Percy's Place Value Puzzle
A worksheet to use to consolidate student understanding of place value to the thousands.
- Plus Plan
Uppercase and Lowercase Letters Maze Worksheet Set
Help students learn to recognise both uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet with this fun set of maze worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Number Word Search Puzzles
Assign these number word search puzzles to your students to give them practise identifying the word form of the numbers 0 through 20.
- Plus Plan
Time to the Hour and Half Hour - Maths Mazes
Engage your students with exciting telling time practise activities with a set of printable Time to the Hour and Half Hour Maths Mazes.
- Plus Plan
Area Model Multiplication Small Group Activity
Review multiplication using the area model with this small group activity.
- 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.
- Plus Plan
Missing Addend Avenue - Find the Missing Number Worksheet
Practise using various subtraction strategies with a fun dice-roll math maze.
- Plus Plan
Decimals on Number Lines – Codebreaker Worksheets
Crack the number line code with worksheets practising identification, addition, and subtraction of decimal numbers.
- Plus Plan
Equivalent Fractions – Differentiated Maths Mazes
Encourage students to practise their understanding of equivalent fractions with this set of differentiated maths mazes.
- Free Plan
OW and OU Words - Word Search
Explore words containing ‘ow’ and ‘ou’ with this set of differentiated word searches.
- Plus Plan
Mini-Mystery – Who Broke the Window?
A fun, logic-based activity where students read clues to solve the mystery.
- Plus Plan
Maths Mazes (Addition and Subtraction)
A set of puzzling mazes that require addition and subtraction skills to solve.
- Plus Plan
Maths Mazes (Factors)
A set of maths mazes that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of factors.
- Plus Plan
Tarsia Division Puzzles
Boost division fact fluency with tarsia division puzzles, a hands-on and engaging way for students to practise their division skills.
- Plus Plan
Number Order Puzzles (Ordering Numbers to 1200)
Give your students these number order puzzles for a fun way to sharpen their skills in ordering numbers up to 1200.
- Plus Plan
Number Maze Worksheet Set (Ordering Numbers to 120)
Share this number maze worksheet set with your students for a fun way to practise ordering numbers to 120 from least to greatest.
- Plus Plan
Telling Time Puzzles – Hour and Half-Hour Times
Practise reading analogue clocks, digital clocks and time in word form with a set of printable time puzzles.