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
- Free Plan
Adverb Crossword – Worksheet
A crossword for students to review different adverbs.
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Compound Word Puzzles
Have fun combining words to make compound words with a fun set of compound word puzzles.
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Multiple-Meaning Word Puzzles
16 puzzles to use in the classroom when identifying homonyms.
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Elapsed Time - Math Maze Worksheets
Find start times, end times, and time elapsed to find your way through our printable Elapsed Time Math maze worksheets.
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Days of the Week - Months of the Year Word Search
Practice spelling the days of the week and months of the year with printable Day and Month Word Search worksheets.
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Veterans Day Activity Book - Printable Puzzles and Games
Have some Veterans Day fun with a printable Veterans Day activity book!
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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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Kindness Word Search
Download a printable word search about kindness for elementary school to explore this important aspect of social awareness with your students.
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Animal Adaptations Word Search
Develop science vocabulary skills with a printable animal adaptations word search.
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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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Adding and Subtracting Integers - Codebreaker Worksheets
Crack the positive and negative number code with four adding and subtracting integers worksheets.
- Free Plan
April Fool’s Day Jokes - Codebreaker Worksheets
Have some fun decoding silly April Fools' Day Jokes with a pack of codebreaker worksheets!
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Antonyms - Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle
Turn your language learners into vocabulary superstars with a fun antonym crossword puzzle.
- Free Plan
Basketball Word Search - Printable
Get ready for the big game with a fun basketball word search.
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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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Word Search - Memorial Day Words for Upper Grades
Build vocabulary skills with this Memorial Day word search for upper grades.
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Maps and Globes Vocabulary Picture Puzzles
Make your geography lessons more fun with a set of map and globe picture puzzles.
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Contractions Practice Worksheets
Reinforce the concept of contractions with eight worksheets designed for primary learners.
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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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Spot the Difference
A fun game for students to try and find the differences between two pictures.
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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.
- Free Plan
Rainforest Maze
A fun, rainforest-themed maze for students to complete.
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Final 'e' Picture Puzzle - a_e
Practice decoding words with long "a" vowel sounds and final "e" conventions with this 15-piece picture puzzle.
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Tangram Treats - Tangram Puzzles
Have fun learning about shapes with a set of 36 tangram task cards separated into three levels, along with two tangram cut-out templates.
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3D Shapes and Their Attributes - Puzzles
Explore the names and properties of some of the most common 3D shapes with this set of 8 puzzles.
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Material World Jigsaws
Six mini jigsaw puzzles focusing on the materials objects are made of.
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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!
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Time in Minutes - Math Maze Worksheets
Tell time to the nearest minute while finding your way through this set of 2nd/3rd Grade Telling Time to the Minute Math mazes.
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Animal Classification Word Search Pack - Lower Grades
Introduce your students to the six animal types/classes with a pack of printable animal word search worksheets.
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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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Animal Adaptations Crossword Puzzle
Use an Animal Adaptations Crossword puzzle to review concepts related to physiological, structural, and behavioral adaptations.