Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

If you're looking for meaningful enrichment activities in the form of challenging, yet entertaining games and puzzles, this may be just what you need. The riddles, illusions, and other mental adventures are taken from the Brain Explorer, a book written for children from age 9 to 12. Brain-bending games include Memory Solitaire, Welcome to the Third Dimension, and Jumping to Conclusions. Some are entirely "on-line interactive," while others require some effort with paper and pencil. One f the six erequires Shockwave. Created by the Exploratorium.

tag(s): puzzles (149), riddles (15)

The weekly word puzzle from National Public Radio is not specifically designed for students, but these puzzles can help build vocabulary and word analysis skills in secondary students. The site presents recent puzzles, along with their answers.

This presentation by students and faculty at Trinity College, Hartford includes discussions of some of history's more famous cipher and encryption machines, including the infamous German enigma machines. Along the way, there's a presentation on some of the basics of encryption. Students interested in math or computer security will find this one an interesting introduction to a hugely complex topic.

tag(s): cryptography (5)

This one is tough to categorize. Enter a day of the year, and this site will tell you about important events, births, and deaths that have happened on that day. Try using this one to create a list of important events - covering a variety of subject areas - for an entire week.

tag(s): quiz (67)

With puzzles to make, puzzles to solve, and optical illusions to observe, this interactive site puts brains and eyes to the test. The site also has a maze maker, math games, word games, and tricks to perform. The "Puzzles to make" section has detailed directions and printable instructions for using these puzzles in the classroom.

tag(s): puzzles (149)

This is an online STEAM do-it-yourself that lets you experiment with lines, fills, and color to create your own kaleidoscope. There are lots of possible imaging, color, and mathematical connections that one might draw from this one. It's also just plain fun to try. Meets Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS):

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Here's a British site offering a steady diet of math problems for several different age groups. There are also regular "code" puzzles that challenge students to decrypt a message or hidden phrase.

tag(s): cryptography (5)

The design of this privately developed site shows its age, but users will find abundant content and visuals here. It just takes a little work. The site covers the evolution of technologies ranging from the earliest wax recordings to today's DVDs. Along the way, users can learn about the people and processes that have helped sound and video recording develop.

tag(s): inventors and inventions (80)

Why does that Harvest Moon appear so huge? This page from the Sandlot Science site offers an explanation that middle and high school students should find interesting. There's an interactive applet that illustrates how the phenomenon actually works. Try this one if you're studying astronomy, the solar system, or puzzles and illusions.

tag(s): moon (73), solar system (110)

This is a curious math site that offers a number of challenging problems for various grade levels. Many of these focus on higher order thinking skills. The overall organization leaves a bit to be desired, but the inquisitive can make interesting discoveries here.

tag(s): puzzles (149)

Subtitled "it's FUN to be smart," this site offers a collection of games, puzzles and activities designed to challenge active minds. There are also original articles, a 2-minute quiz, and a post card feature.

tag(s): logic (161), quiz (67)

Set is a challenging logic game that is often used in building reasoning skills in students. The premise is simple enough for elementary students to understand, but the applications can be a real challenge even for older students. This online version offers a daily sample to challenge students.

tag(s): logic (161)

A creative collection of puzzles and brainteasers to challenge gifted students. This large collection is maintained by Hoagies and sometimes has a few dead links, but the collection is still worth visiting for the MANY good sites they share.

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Here's an ongoing interactive puzzle that can really grow on you. A free registration lets users move through the puzzle one week at a time, discovering new clues with each visit and working with numbers and words to unlock the puzzle's secrets. This would be a great one for an ongoing activity that builds logic and higher order reasoning skills.

tag(s): logic (161), puzzles (149)

This one's mostly for fun, but the on-screen version of the popular magnetic word game lets students manipulate words on the screen to make phrases, sentences, or poetry. Can't find the word you want? Just create a new tile for it.

tag(s): poetry (193), vocabulary (238)

This site promotes chess, school chess clubs, and chess competitions. It offers free templates and other materials which can simplify running a chess club. There are instructional sections as well with a new curriculum aligned with Common Core State Standards (CCSS), but the focus is on getting students involved with the game.

tag(s): chess (2)

This Mensa challenge includes problems and questions designed to challenge thinkers at all levels. Taken online, the challenge takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. However, the site can be used as a whole, or teachers can use one or two questions at a time to challenge students.

tag(s): puzzles (149)

Although rather dated, this site boasts a collection of visually impressive math and logic brain-busters to challenge your class puzzle masters. The forums do not appear to be active, but the puzzles are still worth exploring.

tag(s): puzzles (149)

This collection of surprisingly devlish illusions, mind-games, and other tricks will stump curious students. Most of these puzzles require little or no equipment, making them great for quick, indoor activities. If you have students who need an extra challenge, send them here.

tag(s): puzzles (149)

This is the website for the annual Odyssey of the Mind competition, an interscholastic competion in which teams compete in an attempt to solve one of five categories of problems.

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