Big Magic – A Printable Magic Square Puzzle

I’m excited to share with you the Big Magic Puzzle.

I love magic square puzzles, but I’ve never done much more with them in my class then give out the occasional magic square puzzle worksheet.

So, when I ran across a different-than-normal magic square puzzle in The Ultimate Clever Puzzle Book, I knew I had to make it for my classroom.

And, of course, I have to share it with you guys as well! I believe that this puzzle makes the perfect introduction of magic squares. It would make an excellent opener for a more in-depth lesson on magic squares!

The book is published by Sterling Publishing, and I’m quickly discovering that they are an excellent publisher of puzzle books! The book is out of print, but you can find used copies available on Amazon.

It’s also free to borrow from Archive.org’s Virtual Library, but you may have to wait awhile if it’s checked out since there’s only one copy and each person can keep it for a maximum of two weeks.

The big magic puzzle begins by providing students with a 3 x 3 magic square puzzle. You could easily project this magic square in your class without the text and ask your students the question posed on the printout.

Do you see why it’s called magic? If your students aren’t already familiar with magic square puzzles, this could make a great notice/wonder activity! 

Then, students are provided with puzzle pieces. These pieces are actually part of a 4 x 4 magic square puzzle that has been cut apart. Students are tasked with recreating this magic square.

The Big Magic Puzzle is definitely on the easier realm when compared to a lot of the puzzles that I have posted on my blog. Secondary students should be able to solve it in a few minutes at the most.

It would be a bit more of a challenge for elementary students, but it is definitely do-able for that age level. If students need extra practice with addition or mental math in general, this puzzle could provide that in a fun manner.

I would definitely recommend solving this big magic puzzle on your own before giving it to students just so you realize the approximate time involved in solving.

A really fun follow-up to this Big Magic Puzzle would be to have students create their own magic squares and cut them apart into puzzles for their classmates to solve!

I will probably put magnets on the back of the puzzle pieces and post it on my dry erase board as a regular weekly puzzle for my high school students to tackle in their spare time.

Digital Version of Big Magic Puzzle

Google Slides

Tricia Stohr-Hunt has turned the big magic puzzle into a Google Slides activity for you.