Halloween Triples Puzzle

Bring some spooky fun to your classroom or party with this fun Halloween triples word puzzle. Can you reassemble the trios of letters to form words related to Halloween?

Puzzle Instructions

Combine the letter trios to spell out some words associated with Halloween. Each trio of letters will be used exactly once.

For example, COB and WEB can be combined to form COBWEB. ZOM and BIE can be combined to form ZOMBIE. What other Halloween themed words will you be able to find?

Puzzle Inspiration

This puzzle was inspired by a “Holiday Triples” puzzle published by Erich Friedman in 2013 as part of a holiday puzzles collection. Instead of featuring Christmas-themed words, I decided to take the puzzle structure and modify it to feature Halloween-related words.

This isn’t my first time to modify this puzzle for a different theme. This past April, I shared a math-word version of this triples puzzle. I also created a Thanksgiving Triples Puzzle.

Prepping the Puzzle

I printed the letter trio pages on orange Astrobrights paper and it through my laminator before cutting the pieces apart.

In the past, I have put ceramic disc magnets on the back of the pieces so students can move the pieces around on the dry erase board. This time, I decided to try something different. I printed three sets of the letter trio cards and attached them to the dry erase board with magnetic clips and ziplock snack bags.

With this method, multiple groups of students could work on the puzzle at the same time by taking it back to their table group.

Ways to Use in Class

Puzzle of the Week

I used this puzzle as my “Puzzle of the Week.” This means that I just hung it on the dry erase board near where students walk in my classroom.

I hang a puzzle there each week and just wait to see which students notice it and attempt it. It’s a just a little bit of something for fun that I do.

Some students love solving the puzzles. Others completely ignore them. But I have fun creating them, so I keep doing it for me and the students who love a good challenge.

Last week, my students tackled the 4 Aces puzzle, and it was a super tricky challenge. This Halloween Triples Word Puzzle challenge is a bit more on the manageable side.

Class Opener or Brain Break

This activity would make a great class opener or brain break close to Halloween. It should only take groups around 3-4 minutes to solve the puzzle while working together.

Other Halloween Activities

You could combine this with some of the other Halloween activities I’ve blogged about to create a day of Halloween fun! Here are a few activities that would accompany this word puzzle well:

• 9 Pumpkins Puzzle
• Ghost Game
• Picking Pumpkins Game
• Halloween Mystery Tangram Puzzle or Bat Tangram Puzzle
• Halloween Symbols Puzzle
• Pentominoes Jack-o-lantern Puzzle