Fun Classroom Riddles For Kindergarten
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If you’re looking for a fun way to help students practice literacy during your daily learning routine, riddles might be just what you’re looking for! I’m going to share how classroom riddles for kindergarten can bring extra engagement to your daily skill practice.
The Benefits of Kindergarten Classroom Riddles
Back in the day, I would incorporate fun riddles for kindergarten on a daily basis. My students always loved a good riddle!
But brain teasers are more than a fun addition to your daily routine. They can be a tool to help students practice important literacy skills that will make them more confident readers.
Let’s take a peek at some of the skills that students can practice with classroom riddles:
Phonemic Awareness – Rhyming riddles can be a fun way to help students build their phonemic awareness. They can identify the rhyming words in the riddle before solving it.
Vocabulary – Riddles often use interesting vocabulary words in order to create the rhymes. This gives students the chance to build their vocabulary, which will improve their reading comprehension.
Text Details – As students look for the clues in the riddle, they are practicing their ability to identify the important details in text. This is a very important strategy for budding readers to master!
Making Inferences – Once students have been able to identify the important words in the riddle, it’s time for them to make their guesses! They are using text details in order to make inferences, which will help them strengthen their reading comprehension skills.
Using Classroom Riddles in Kindergarten
Classroom riddles are a fun addition to the morning routine!
In the past, I found that the best way to incorporate simple riddles every morning was to have the little brain teasers written out on chart paper. As students put their things away, I would read the riddle out loud to the class.
As students walked back to their desks, they would grab a scrap of paper from a bin of recycled paper. They would draw (and eventually write) what they thought was the correct answer to the riddle. Then, they would place their folded-up guess in a baggie attached to my chart caddy.
After our morning announcements and pledge, I would read the riddle again and tally the guesses. We would dig into the text and make sure our guesses made sense. As time went on, my students got pretty good at paying attention to the clues and finding new ways to make accurate guesses with even the hard riddles.
Creating a Riddle of the Day Routine
As I said, I just wrote the riddle on chart paper every morning. That takes time and, as kindergarten teachers, we don’t have that kind of time! Like, EVER!
That’s why I created a product with an easy way to print daily riddles to use in your classroom. You can even display the collection of riddles using a projector, without even printing them!
If you want to use riddles in the classroom, here are a few tips for getting started:
1. Display the Riddle
Whether it’s chart paper, printable riddles, or digital slides, make sure the riddle is visible for all students to reference as they try to make their guesses.
2. Read the Riddle
Take a moment to read the brain teaser out loud to your students. This will help them do the thinking work while you do the reading work.
3. Record Guesses
This will look different in every classroom! You might decide to keep this an oral activity and record student responses on the board or chart paper.
You could also call up students to write down their guesses on the chart paper. Students who have the same guess as one already written can make a tally mark next to it. This is great practice with tallying!
As I mentioned earlier, this could also be a chance for your students to practice their writing skills by making their guesses on a slip of paper. They can either write or draw their guesses.
4. Tally the Guesses
Students love to help tally and count the guesses! As you count the guesses, you could ask students what words in the riddle led them to make that guess.
The kindergartener in this picture is putting smiley faces next to the guesses that match the clues in the riddle. As the year goes on there will be more and more accurate guesses, since students will improve their ability to make inferences based on text details.
5. Focus on Seasons and Themes
As you progress through the school year, you can focus on seasons and themes for your riddles. When a brain teaser is centered on the month or season that you’re currently in, the vocabulary will be top-of-mind. This makes it easier for students to make their guesses.
You can also use themed riddles that correspond to topics that you’re studying in class. You might choose this one for the next time you’re talking about bats!
Printable and Digital Riddles for Kindergarten
I have put together a Riddle of the Day printable and digital resource to help you start this routine with your students. These funny riddles are available in several formats. I have them preloaded to Seesaw or you can use them on your interactive whiteboard.
Some of the riddles are seasonal while others can be used at anytime of the year. For example:
- Community Helpers Riddles
- Space Riddles
- Our Body (heart, lungs, muscles, brain, bones) Riddles
- Sports Riddles
- Math Riddles
- Color Riddles
- Five Senses Riddles
This resource also includes seasonal riddles that correspond to each month of the school year, including:
- School Riddles
- Pumpkin Patch Riddles
- Halloween Riddles
- Christmas Riddles
- Valentines Day Riddles
I’m sure you will find a riddle or two to fit the theme you are teaching! ENJOY!
More Rhyme Activities for Kindergarten
I have a few other blog posts that perfectly compliment the Riddle of the Day.
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Deedee Wills
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
Hi, I'm DeedeE.
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
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4 Responses
Will this be available on your tpt store?
I’m sorry I am just getting back to you, but YES! They are there now 🙂
Do you stop & read these to your kids as they come in each morning?
Yes, I sure did. I usually repeat the Riddle about 4-5 times as my little friends entered the room 🙂