Sometimes keeping students engaged for a (long) school day feels like a losing battle. How do you get their undivided attention while teaching them the skills they need to be successful? How do you turn difficult and intimidating concepts into fun and entertaining lessons that really bring life to life in the classroom?
Puzzlefor children are a great way togame based learningthat not only entertain children, but also inspire creative thinking in the classroom. People of all ages can enjoy these fun but challenging activities.
And some examples of when teachers might want to use puzzles are on a classroom bulletin board, as a matching activity to start a new concept or lesson, or during indoor recess on a rainy day.
we met45 examples of puzzles for childrenwith answers, organized by category:
Index
Language puzzles for kids:
enigmas;language associations;Lateral thinking problems.
math puzzles for kids:
math puzzles;pattern problems;Prodigy.
Visual puzzles for kids:
find the difference;hieroglyphics puzzle;optical illusions;Stroop effect test.
Use the list below to find the perfect puzzle for your class!
What are puzzles?
Before exploring our examples, you might be wondering what puzzles really are.
Cambridge Dictionarydefines a puzzle as “a problem for which it is difficult to find the answer, especially one that people enjoy trying to solve as a game”.
Jigsaw puzzles are a type of puzzle, and as the following list reveals, they come in many different guises. Often presented as a riddle, a question, or an activity, puzzles require a bit more intelligence to solve.
It is important to note that if you have English learners in your class, puzzles for kids can be challenging for them. If that's the case, they may need you to guide them through the puzzles more closely, or you can find ones that best suit their language level.
Puzzles for children differ from other complex or abstract problems in that they are usually madeto have fun.While you can use them to explore problem solving and critical thinking skills, they are often used as a fun activity to encourage logic and understanding.lateral thinking, or think "outside the box".
45 puzzles for children
We have compiled a list of language, math, and visual brain teasers for your students to think about. Get inspired by the examples below, including the answers!
Language puzzles for kids
1. Enigmas
When you hear the term "puzzle", probably the first thing that comes to mind is a brain teaser. Riddles are puzzling, sometimes tricky questions or statements that require creative thinking to solve.
Riddles are usually fun and many of them can add a bit of humor to your classroom.
Enjoy our list of riddles for kids below!
enigmas
a) Billy's mother had five children. The first one was called Lala, the second one was called Lele, the third one was called Lili, the fourth one was called Lolo. What was the name of the fifth child?
b) Choose the correct sentence: “The egg yolk is clear” or “The egg yolk is clear”.
c) It is light as a feather, but the strongest cannot hold it for more than five minutes. What is it?
d) The more there are, the less you see. What is it?
e) Which gets more wet when it dries?
f) You can find it on Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, but not on Venus or Neptune. What is it?
g) He likes food, but water kills him. What is it?
h) What is full of holes but can still contain water?
i) What weighs more, a kilo of feathers or a kilo of stones?
j) How far can a dog run in the forest?
k) He is driving a city bus. Three women get on at the first stop. At the second stop a woman gets off and a man gets on. At the third stop, two children board. The bus is blue and it's raining outside in December. What is the bus driver's hair color?
l) There are three houses. One is red, one is blue, and one is white. If the red house is to the left of the middle house and the blue house is to the right of the middle house, where is the white house?
m) It is in the center of gravity and you can find it on Venus but not on Mars. What is it?
n) What walks four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night? (This is from the classical myth,Oedipus and the riddle of the sphinx)
o) Which travels faster: heat or cold?
p) A man was walking in the rain in the middle of nowhere without a coat or umbrella. He got drenched, but not a single hair on his head was wet. How can it be?
q) A cowboy entered the town on Friday. He stayed in the city for three days and returned on Friday. How is that possible?
answers
a)Billy
b) None. The buds are yellow, not white!
c) Breathing
d) teeth
e) a towel
f) The letter “R”
g) fire
h) a sponge
In both. They both weigh a kilo!
j) Half way. When it gets to the middle, it's working.forof the woods
k) Whatever the color of your hair. Remember, you are driving the bus!
l) Desde Washington, D.C.
m) The letter "V"
n) A human being. The hours of the day represent stages of human life. Early in life, a baby crawls on four "feet." As a person gets older, he walks on two feet. Later in life, a person will walk on three "feet" (two feet plus a cane to help them walk).
o) Heat travels faster because you can catch a cold!
p) He was bald.
q) The name of the horse was Friday.
As a bonus, use these brain teasers to challenge preconceived notions andget students to think about natural bias.
a) Two boxers are in a fight scheduled for 12 rounds. (Just pure boxing, no UFC kicks, takedowns or anything else.) One of the boxers is knocked out after only six rounds, but neither throws a punch. How is that possible?
b) Father and son are in a car accident and both are seriously injured. They are taken to separate hospitals for treatment. When the boy is taken in for an operation, the surgeon says, “I can't do this surgery…. This boy is my son! How is that possible?
Answers:
a) Both boxers are women.
b) The surgeon is the mother of the child.
2. Linguistic associations
These brain teasers for kids explore the intricacies of the English language. Use them to increase students' knowledge of sounds, words, spelling, categorization, and more.a)word association: Find a word associated with the following sets of words.
- Pastel, swiss, farmhouse
- glasses, screen, day
- cream bucket cap
- knife, fly, cup
b) find themysterious word. Replace the third letter of each word with a new letter to create a different word. When read vertically, the new letters will reveal the mystery word.
For example, the word MAkAnd can become MARnot meUEnot meTAnd so on. It's your job to figure out which one works to create the mystery word.
aboutMETROmi
AFTERkmi
BOAT
NOAT
CALLEOPAG
licensed in letterskmi
Hint: it's something you'll discover out there.
c) findrhyming pairs. Unscramble the following words so that each pair of words rhymes.
- RBAE Y HREAS
- WNROED Y UTRHNDE
- TUGHAT AND HBTUGO
- ODULC y ODOG
Answers:
a)
- Queso
- Sol
- It is
- Butter
b)
aboutFmi
AFTERUEmi
BOOT
NOCT
CALLEmiPAG
licensed in lettersRmi
mysterious word:FLOR
C)
- BEAR (or BARE) & SHARE
- WONDER AND THUNDER
- TAUGHT AND PURCHASED
- MIGHT AND GOOD
You can also use printable puzzles for kids like this:
Image source:spell the words well
Respondedor:The "happy word" isSMILE.
3. Lateral thinking problems
Lateral thinking problems require creative thinking with an indirect approach.
These questions require logic and careful thinking to solve them. The most notable example of a lateral thinking problem is the classicProblema de Monty Hall.
Here are two examples of lateral thinking problems that children can try to solve.
a) The problem of crossing the river
Image source:popular mechanics
A farmer travels with a fox, a goose, and a bag of beans. During his journey, he comes across a river with a boat to cross it.
The farmer can only put one thing in the pot with him at a time. If they are alone together, the fox will eat the goose or the goose will eat the bean. How does the farmer manage to cross the river safely?
b) The lamp problem
There are three light switches outside a room, labeled number one, number two, and number three. The room door is locked and you can't see inside. All three switches are off.
You need to find out which switch belongs to which bulb. You can use the switches however you like, but you can only enter the room once. How do you do that?
Answers:
a) Here is the step-by-step solution:
- The farmer brings the goose to the other side of the river first (if he leaves the goose alone, it will eat the beans or be eaten by the fox).
- The farmer brings the fox or the bean and leaves the other alone.
- Now the farmer has two items across the river, including the goose. If he leaves the goose again, the same problem will occur. Then the farmer must bring the goose back to the other side.
- The farmer brings the other item (the fox or the bean) and leaves the goose alone again. The fox and the bean are now on the other side of the river.
- The farmer returns and brings the goose to the other side of the river.
b) Turn on the first switch and leave it on. Turn the second switch on for a few minutes and then turn it back off. When you enter the room, a lamp will light up. You'll know it matches switch one because you turned it on. Another lamp will be hot. You'll know this is happening with switch two because it's been on for a while. The cool off light bulb turns on switch three because you haven't touched it.
math puzzles for kids
Asmath riddles, these brain teasers for kids can increase engagement with math content and inspire your students to work on math concepts and problems outside of regular lessons.
1. Math puzzles
These riddles are just as fun as the previous ones, but they aremath focused. Use them to give students some extra math practice.miencourage clever thinking.
math puzzles
a) Divide 30 by ½ and add 10. What is the answer?
b) A butcher shop clerk is six feet tall and wears size 10 shoes. How much does he weigh?
c) A farmer has 19 sheep on his property. One day, a huge storm breaks loose and all but seven flee. How many sheep did the farmer leave?
d) Your sock drawer contains only 18 white socks and 18 blue socks. How many times do you have to dig through a drawer and pull out a sock to get a matching pair?
e) You planted sunflower seeds in your backyard. Every day the number of flowers doubles. If it took 52 days for the flowers to fill the garden, how many days would it take them to fill half the garden?
f) Using only addition, how can you use eight eights to get the number 1000?
g) When Ashley was 15, her mother was 37. Now, her mother is twice her age. How old is Ashley?
answers
a) It is 70. You are dividing 30 by ½, not by 2. Thirty divided by ½ is the same as multiplying by two, which is 60. Plus 10 is 70!
b) Meat. He works at the butcher shop, so he weighs meat for a living.
c) Seven. the riddle saysall but sevenrun away, which means there are seven who didn't run away.
d) Three times. The third time, you'll get a white or blue sock to match one of the other two you already own.
e) It would take 51 days. If the number of flowers doubled every day, half the garden would be full the day before, on the 51st.
f)888 +88 +8 +8 +8
g) Ashley is 22 years old. Her mother is 22 years older than her, so when Ashley is 22, she is now half her mother's age.
2. Pattern problems
These questions require students to identify a pattern before they can answer a specific question. Children must use creative and logical thinking to find the answers.
a) With:
2 + 2 = 44
3 + 3 = 96
4 + 4 = 168
5 + 5 = 2510
So:
6 + 6 =?
b) What makes this number unique: 8,549,176,320?
c) Solve the following pattern puzzle. Find the missing number to replace the question mark.
Image source:cool riddles
d) Solve the following:
Image source:AOL
Answers:
a) The missing number is 3612. The answer is the number multiplied by itself and then the number added to itself. Six multiplied by six is 36, and six plus six is 12.
b) Contains each one-digit number, zero through nine, listed in alphabetical order.
c) The missing number is 17. Each number in the circle is the sum of the numbers in the opposite quadrant. In this case, the numbers are eight and nine, they add up to 17.
d) The answer is 14 (or 16) if you are on the other side of thethe debate.
3. Prodigy Math Game
To bemathematical activityit's a bit different from the others on the list. It's not a traditional brain teaser, but it can also be used as a fun, skill-building alternative to traditional math lessons.
Prodigy is a game-based learning platform that takes your students on a fantasy adventure online as they answer standards-aligned math questions. he is good lookingmieffective in teaching necessary skills.
Prodigy's free teacher tools help you differentiate learning, submit in-game assessments, and even collect student insights.
Visual puzzles for kids
1. Discover the difference
This ever-popular activity may remind you of your own childhood, and the kids still love it! Finding the difference puzzles requires a lot of deduction and attention to detail.
Here is an example of a printable activity to spot the difference.
Image source:Printables by Tim
Respondedor:
2. Hieroglyphics puzzle
A brain teaser is a visual word puzzle that uses lateral thinking to find the intended meaning. The word or phrase is represented by a visual illustration that includes letters and words. Students must think creatively to figure out the meaning of the clues they receive.
a)
Image source:Wikipedia
b)
Image source:battery change
Answers:
a) Ultrasecreto
b) Think outside the box
Visit the following link if you want more fun brain teasers for your students:
3. Optical illusions
Be tricky with your students! Optical illusions use visual tricks that alter your perception of what you're actually seeing. Students will love trying to figure out what is really going on in these examples.
a) How many legs does the elephant have?
Image source:optics for children
b) Are the two squares of different colors?
Image source:brain den
Answers:
a) four
b) They are exactly the same color. If you place your finger where the squares meet, you will see that they are equal.Try this impossible paper puzzle for a more practical optical illusion. You can make one to show your class, and then have students make their own fun puzzles to share with friends and family.
4. Stroop effect test
The Stroop effect was discovered in the 1930s by John Ridley Stroop. During the test, you are given a list of color names, with each word having a different color than the one it describes.
The test consists of saying the color of a word, instead of reading the word itself. Your mind must process the two conflicting pieces of information, which slows your reaction rate and requires careful thought to overcome.
Image source:the resourceful classroom
Benefits of puzzles for children
You know your students love them, but did you know there are lots of other reasons to make puzzles a regular classroom activity?
Astudy on the attention span of six-year-old childrenfound that children who received puzzles were more attentive than those who did not, showing that the puzzles were effective in increasing children's attention spans.
Puzzles for kids can also:
- Strengthen problem solving and critical thinking skills.
- Encourage lateral thinking and build new perspectives.
- Improve cognitive abilities such as memory and processing speed
- Inspire teamwork and communication.
- Engage students and motivate them to learn
- Provide needed breaks from traditional classwork
How to use puzzles in the classroom
In addition to their many learning benefits, brain teasers are a great way to break up the day and engage your students. Here are some ways to use kids puzzles as ateaching strategyand maximize the benefits in your classroom:
- Activity to improve engagement before or after classes
- Additional questions about homework and tests
- Optional “free time” activity
- Encourage team building - divide students into groups to solve them together
- Supplemental Lessons: Choose puzzles on the topic you are teaching
Final Thoughts on Puzzles for Kids
No matter what subject or skill you want to focus on, a puzzle is a great addition to traditional teaching methods. Plus, it's something that students will really beexcitedquarrel
Remember that puzzles are designed to be fun for children. It's not about finding the right answer, it's about the mental exercise they do trying to find the solution.
Use any of the brain teasers on this list any time you need a boost of energy in your classroom. Bonus points if you can fool any adult!
Create or login to your free teacher account on Prodigy– a game-based math learning platform that is easy to use for educators and students alike. Aligned with standards throughout the English-speaking world, it is used byMore than a millionteachers and90 millionstudents.