Do you want to learn how to play sudoku and use it in your classroom? This game is fantastic for developing higher-order thinking skills and boosting logic and reasoning skills too!
Objective
To fill up the 4×4 grid using reason and logic so that every row, column and each of the 2×2 squares have one of each picture with NO duplicates in any row, column or 2×2 square.
Breakdown of the Sudoku terms
First, here is a visual on what I mean by the terms: 4×4 grid, row, column, and 2×2 square.
4×4 Grid
This is in reference to the size of the puzzle – 4 squares across and 4 squares down
Row
These are the lines of squares that go from the left-hand side to the right-hand side in a straight line. This is a 4×4 grid so there are 4 rows each containing 4 squares as shown in the picture below.
Column
These are the lines of squares that go from the top to the bottom of the grid in a straight line. This is a 4×4 grid so there are 4 columns containing 4 squares as shown in the picture below.
2×2 Square
A 4×4 grid is made up of (4) 2×2 squares as shown in the picture below.
Completed Puzzle Example
Each puzzle once completed will be different but this will show you what one looks like that is done correctly with no doubles in any row, column or 2×2 square.
Once you have mastered these terms and learned how to play sudoku you simply use logic to solve them! I start with a technique I call “given” – and it is basically a process of elimination. I have made a series of pictures to show you how I would go about solving these simple 4×4 sudoku puzzles.
Solving a 4×4 Sudoku Puzzle
I love using these puzzles in my classroom! Click the picture below to read about 7 amazing ways I use Sudoku in my classroom and 9 benefits these puzzles posses!
If you would like to see some of the sudoku puzzles I have in my store simply type “sudoku” in the search bar of my website or click the picture below to see them in my Tpt store.
Click the picture below for my FREE HOW TO PLAY SUDOKU print out.
