Mind Benders

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Mind Benders
Anagrams
Rhyme Time Fun
East to West
Ocean Waves
Patterns
More Patterns
Roman Numerals
Johns Family
Two Watches
Word Detective
Scrambled Presidents
20-20 Vision
Looney Law
Art Smart
Animalisms
Is It Art?
Barnyard Baffler
What Next
Holidays We Like
Where Do They Live
School Jobs
Arm Wrestling
Blacklist
Formulas For Fun
Presidential Couples
Cats, Cats, Cats
Two-Way Words
Standards Covered
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Anagrams
An anagram is a word that can be changed into
another word by rearranging the letters. Can you
unscramble these anagrams? Your clue to the new
word is its definition.

• WOLFRYE _________________________
• covered with blossoms
• CROWSAD _________________________
• people without courage
• GOATLED __________________________
• gazed at with great satisfaction
• LIONTOM __________________________
• by the light of the moon

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Rhyme Time Fun
An important part of understanding poetry is
recognizing rhyme which adds both to the meaning
and joy of reading it. Below are some fun rhymes
which you can do.
Examples Chief of Police top cop a heavy
feline fat cat
1. Naked rabbit 2. Angry boy 3. Funny soda 4.
Tidy chair 5. Mouse bed 6. Seafood plate 7.
Burning pan
8. Grassy field 9. Bell ringing 10. Tough
fat 11. Greatest exam 12. Large swine 13.
Dancing bird
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East to West
This little house pictured below faces west. Can
you make it face east by changing the position of
just one line? You may want to actually make
this house on your desk with toothpicks and try
it.
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Ocean Waves
Heres a tough one for you! Think of a
four-letter word that means ocean waves. Now,
turn it into an unusual word that means land by
changing the first letter.
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Patterns
Look at this series of numbers. They form a
special pattern. Figure out the missing numbers
and fill them in.
256, 128, 64, 32, _____, _____, _____, _____
Ready for another one? Give this one a try.
2, 3, 5, 8, 13, _____, _____, _____, _____
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More Patterns
Each group of numbers forms a pattern. Can you
fill in the numbers to complete the series?
1977, 1954, _________, 1905, __________, 1852
Now try this one
¾ , 1 ½ , _______, _______, 3 ¾
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Roman Numerals?
When in Romedo as the Romans do. Thats an
important clue to help solve the two math puzzles
below. Its just a bit tricky. Put on your
thinking cap!

• Take half of 12 and leave 7.
• Take one from 19 and leave 20.

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Johns Family
John Smith has as many sisters as brothers, but
each sister has only half as many sisters as
brothers. How many brothers and sisters are
there in the family?
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Two Watches
On her way home from school, Joan found two old
watches lying under a tree in the park across
from her house. One watch doesnt run at all and
the other loses an hour a day. Which watch will
show the correct time more often? Explain.
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Word Detective
Are you a word-detective? Can you guess the word
that the letters in this poem spell?
The first is in sunny and also in song. The
seconds in party and also in prong. The third is
in rugged and also in crisp. The fourth is in
iceberg and also in wisp. The fifth is in nothing
and also in near. The sixth is in golden and also
in gear. The whole is a season when new buds
appear.
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Scrambled Presidents
Try answering the questions below. Need help
finding an answer? Unscramble the letters to
find the name of the President.

• Which President loved to eat cream and peanut
  soup?
• HIGTONNAWS
• Which President had a pet rabbit named Zsa-Zsa?
• NYDEENK
• Which President was locked out of the White House
  when he took his dog for a walk?
• DORF
• Which President installed the first bathtub in
  the White House?
• EMFILLOR

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20-20 Vision
Can you give this guy 20-20 vision? Make the
circles add up to 20. Use the numbers 2 8.
But use each number only once!
2
3
4
5
6
8
7
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LOONY LAW
Be careful if you go to Lexington, KY. Its
against the law there to carry a certain object
in your pocket. What is it? To find out, first
rearrange the fractions below so that theyre in
order from smallest to largest. Then, put the
letters in the correct order in the spaces below.
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Art Smart
Art is everywhere! Its even part of many words.
Listed here are a few, but there are letters
missing. To figure out the words, read the clues
and fill in the blanks.

• ____ ____ A R T
• ____ A R T ____ ____ ____
• ____ A R ____ ____ T
• ____ A R T ____ ____ ____
• ____ A R T ____

• This gives your body a beat.
• A visitor from Mars.
• Mother or father.
• Funny kind of art.
• You might have this on your birthday.

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Animalisms
Are you as wise as an owl? Do you have a memory
like an elephants? If so, youll have no
trouble figuring out these animalisms. First ,
read the definition of each animalism. Then
write the correct animal in the space.

• clever person sly __________
• ready to eat hungry as a ____________
• enormous task _________ of a job
• tricks _______________ business
• have fun ____________ around

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Is It Art ?
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
has 200,000 objects that some people say arent
art. Nope, theyre not paintings. To figure
out the answer, find each number below that can
be divided by 7, and the letter beside it. The
mysterious artwork will be spelled out by the
letters associated with those numbers. Write
them in the blanks below.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
cards
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Barnyard Baffler
How sharp are your eyes? Can you spot the
barnyard critters hiding in the sentences below?
For instance, a cat is hiding in this
sentence Erica told a story.

• Stop ignoring me!
• Seth or Selma will do it.
• Clambakes are fun.
• Remember to go at noon.
• He never does his chores.
• Do groceries cost more now?

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What Next?
A, B, C, D, ____, ____. What comes next?The
answer is E, F, right? Thats a sequence with
which were all familiar. The sequences below
are a bit different. Can you fill in the letters
that should come next?

• A, D, G, J, M, ____, ____, ____,
• M, T, W, T, ____, ____, ____
• O, T, T, F, F, S, S, E, ____, ____, ____,

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Holidays We Like
Mark, Jamie, Nan, and Dave like Christmas,
Easter, Thanksgiving, and birthdays. Who likes
which special day?
Clues

• Mark doesnt like turkey.
• Dave likes to get presents.
• Todays date is December 20th.
• Jamies favorite food is eggs.
• Daves favorite day is in five days.

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Where Do They Live?
John, Mike, Jill, and Chris live in New York,
Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and California. Where
does Mike live?
Clues

• Jill, Mike, and John do not live in the Golden
  State.
• Mike does not live in the Keystone State.
• John is going to New York for his vacation.
• John lives in the state that was named after a
  famous Quaker.
• Jill moved away from Mississippi last year.

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School Jobs
Tim, Susan, Beth, Lois, and Robert all have an
extra job at the school. The jobs are patrol
guard, office assistant, messenger, picture
hanger, and teachers assistant. Match the
student with the job.
Clues

• Lois does her homework with the office assistant.
• Robert walks home with the messenger.
• Susan plays with the picture hanger.
• Beth has lunch with the patrol guard.
• Sue is not the teachers assistant.
• Robert is decorating the library.
• Tim carries pieces of paper.
• Lois protects the children as they cross the
  street.

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Arm Wrestling
Here are ten words and phrases to wrestle with.
These all contain arm. See how many of these you
can pin down.

• A R M
• __ A R M
• __ __ A R M
• A R M __ __ __
• __ __ __ __ A R M
• A R M __ __ __ __ __
• __ A R M __ __ __ __ __
• __ __ A R M __ __ __ __ __
• __ A R M __ __ __ __ __ __ __
• A R M __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

• Another body part.
• Old MacDonalds, for example
• Bees massed together
• The Spanish had one the English sunk it.
• A gun
• Piece of furniture
• Its good on toast.
• Loud timepiece
• Having a stable body temperature
• Today we know it as Veterans Day

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Blacklist
Have we got a blacklist for you! To solve
this puzzle youll have to draw on all the names,
phrases, and expressions you can think of that
contain the word black. For example, whats the
name of a famous storybook horse? Black Beauty,
of course! And where do you usually write with
chalk? On a blackboard. Now thats not so
tough or is it? Try blackening in the blanks
below, and see for yourself.

• An outcast member of the family __________
• A card game gamblers play __________
• A side dish enjoyed by many Southerners
  ___________
• Formal wear __________
• The top award in judo __________
• Name for Mount Rushmore range __________
• An English pirate __________
• A crime involving money __________
• A shiner __________
• A spider with a deadly bite __________

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Formulas for Fun
Each of the following formulas contains the
initial letters of the words needed to solve the
equation. For example, 3 F. in a Y. is 3
Feet in a Yard, or 4 P. on M.R. is 4
Presidents on Mount Rushmore. Try your hand at
these 10 tough problems, but dont be discouraged
if you dont solve all the formulas on the first,
second, or even third try. It sometimes helps to
put them aside for awhile and come back to them
after giving your brain a rest. And if youre
really having trouble, check the clue box to give
yourself a hint. If you can figure out just
five, give yourself a pat on the back!

• 12 I. in a F.
• 12 M. in a Y.
• 1 P. in a P.T.
• 9 P. in our S.S.
• 26 L. in the A.
• 5 N. in a Z.C.
• 7 D. in a W.
• 7 N. in a T.N.
• 29 D. in F. in a L.Y.
• 3 S. and Y.O.A.T.O.B.G.

• An inchworm would know this
• Thirty days hath September
• Think Christmas song
• The skys the limit
• What do you spell with?
• Think U.S. mail
• Cant wait until Friday!
• Call me tonight.
• What happens every four years?
• Think baseball

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Presidential Couples Matchup
June is traditionally a month of weddings. See
if you can match the first names of these
Presidential couples by placing the letter of the
correct Presidents name in the blank in front of
the First Ladys name.
_____ 1. Martha _____ 2. Abigail _____ 3.
Dolley _____ 4. Mary _____ 5. Eleanor _____ 6.
Jackie _____ 7. Bess _____ 8. Rosalynn _____ 9.
Pat _____ 10. Mamie _____ 11. Lady Bird _____ 12.
Nancy _____ 13. Barbara _____ 14. Betty

• John Fitzgerald
• Ronald
• George
• George Herbert Walker
• John
• Abe
• Harry
• Gerald
• Dwight
• Franklin
• Jimmy
• Lyndon
• Richard
• James

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• What cat is an ancient military weapon used to
  hurl missiles?
• What cat changes to a butterfly?
• What cat is a tree?
• What cat lists things for sale?
• What cats are ranch animals?
• What cat is a hamburger condiment?
• What cat is a waterfall or a clouding of the lens
  of the eye?
• What cat stands behind home plate?
• What cat is a plant cats love?
• What cat is big trouble?
• What cats grow in marshes?
• What cat is an ancient burial place?
• What cat is an earthquake?
• What cat is a class or division?

Cats, Cats, and More Cats
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Two-Way Words
The three words in each set can be combined
with another word to form a compound word or a
familiar two-word phrase. The new word can go
before or after the given words. For example, if
you are given these three words START ACHE
BLOCK, the answer would be HEAD (headstart,
headache, blockhead). Now try the following

• SHINE TREE HORSE
• POCKET MARK STORE
• MILK HAND UP
• CAR OFFICE MAIL
• COPY NAP NIP
• RACK TOP STRAW
• BALL EVIL SIGHT
• RIDE LOAD STEAM
• UP LIP POPSICLE
• RING NAIL INDEX

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Standards Coming Soon