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
National Tree Day – Environment Word Search
Print a word search to use on National Tree Day or Earth Day to help your students learn about conservation.
- Free Plan
Maths Mazes (Place Value)
Determine the correct paths through each maze using knowledge of place value.
- Plus Plan
Australian Money Word Search with Solution
A word search to help your students to learn what the Australian currency looks like and their corresponding names.
- Plus Plan
Adding and Subtracting Integers - Tarsia Puzzle
Practise adding and subtracting integers with a printable Tarsia puzzle!
- Free Plan
Natural Resources Word Search
Review the different natural resources with a word search.
- Free Plan
Rounding Numbers – Maths Mazes
Round numbers to various places while finding your way through this set of 5 maths mazes.
- Plus Plan
Missing Addend Addition Picture Puzzle – Level 1
Build simple addition skills with this missing addends worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Addition Match-Up Puzzles
A set of 15 match-up cards to scaffold work with addition word problems.
- Plus Plan
2D Shape Match-up Puzzles
A set of puzzles that match up 2D shapes and their properties.
- Plus Plan
Maths Mazes (Factors)
A set of maths mazes that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge of factors.
- Free Plan
Complex Dot-to-dot – Skip Counting by Twos (Car) – Worksheet
A complex dot-to-dot where students demonstrate skip counting by twos.
- Free Plan
Fractions, Decimals and Percentages Polygon Puzzle
A puzzle using fractions, decimals and percentages.
- Plus Plan
OI and OY Words - Word Search
Explore words containing ‘oi’ and ‘oy’ with this set of differentiated word searches.
- Plus Plan
Mystery Pattern Grids (Addition)
Solve addition sums and interpret grid coordinates to reveal the picture.
- Plus Plan
Multiplication Match-Up Puzzles
A match-up activity to assist students in understanding multiplication word problems.
- Plus Plan
Proper Nouns Crossword Puzzle - Worksheet
A crossword researching different proper nouns.
- Plus Plan
Maths Mazes (Addition and Subtraction)
A set of puzzling mazes that require addition and subtraction skills to solve.
- Plus Plan
Number Matching Puzzle - Multiplication
A hands-on game to play when learning about multiplying numbers.
- Free Plan
Heat Energy Word Search
Help students remember heat energy vocabulary with this word search.
- Plus Plan
Dot Day Division Tarsia Puzzle
Practise dividing two-digit by one-digit numbers with a Dot Day tarsia puzzle.
- Plus Plan
Water Cycle Crossword Puzzle
Review water cycle vocabulary with a crossword puzzle.
- Free Plan
Prefix Puzzles - Match Up Cards
Practise building, reading, and understanding the meaning of words with prefixes with a fun set of prefix puzzles.
- Plus Plan
Renewable Energy Word Search
Review science vocabulary terms with an engaging renewable energy word search.
- Plus Plan
Estimating Decimal Sum and Differences — Year 6 Maths Mazes
Year 6 students can practise estimating solutions to decimal addition and subtraction equations with this set of maths mazes.
- Plus Plan
Maths Mazes (Number Sequencing)
Skip count your way through these mazes that focus on number sequencing.
- Free Plan
Complex Dot-to-dot – Skip Counting by Twos (Seahorses) – Worksheet
A complex dot-to-dot where students demonstrate skip counting by twos.
- Plus Plan
Maths Mazes (Two-digit Addition)
A set of three mazes that require students to add two-digit numbers.
- Plus Plan
Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Numbers by 2 - Frog
Join the dots and numbers to make a picture.
- Plus Plan
Computer Word Search with Solution
A fun word search to help your students learn and work with computer related vocabulary.
- 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.
- Plus Plan
Perimeter of Composite Shapes Maze
Use this perimeter maze when teaching your students how to calculate the perimeter of composite shapes.
- Plus Plan
10 More, 10 Less Differentiated Mazes
Delight your students with this maze challenge, to practise calculating 10 more or 10 less than a value within 120.