Strands Word Puzzles for the Classroom – Great for Brain Breaks

 Do you need something fun and engaging to use as a brain break in the classroom?  The New York Times has started publishing a new kind of puzzle called Strands – these puzzles are similar to a word search but with a twist.  Here’s an example that I created myself:I know…it looks like a word search…but there are three differences:You can move from one letter to the next in any directionYou aren’t given a list of words to find – instead you are given the theme of the puzzle and you have to determine the words yourself.In order for the puzzle to be solved, every letter must be used.The theme of this puzzle is Summer – here are a couple of hints.  Do you see the words SUNBURN and CAMPING hiding in there?  There are 7 other words hiding in there – go ahead and find them – I’ll wait 😂!Why would you want to use these in the classroom?increase vocabularybrain breakcritical thinking and problem solvingwork togetherit’s just fun!You can either print out each puzzle and give to each student, or if you have less time you could project the puzzle onto your white board or smart board and find the words as a whole class.I have created a bunch of these puzzles already!  I have puzzles themed around Math (of course!), Christmas, Halloween, Back to School, At the Amusement Park, and MORE!  Check them all out here:NEW JUST PUBLISHED!Would you like even more puzzles in a book/workbook format?  I recently published a book of 27 puzzles on Amazon!