If there’s one thing that is fabulous about the English language from the point of view of children, it is the fact that it has so many interesting riddles for one to try and understand and solve. It's a great way for children to improve their language skill even as they learn a valuable life-lesson or two.
The international schools in Dubai, are known to include riddles in their interactions with the students in the shape of lectures or lessons.
Riddles are fun and interesting questions put to someone with the intention of teaching them something useful. Quite naturally this is a great way of imparting knowledge or a lesson to children. The English language fortunately has a vast repertoire of such riddles.
Take this one for an example- How many months in a year has 28 days? The answer is 12 as all months have at least 28 days! A riddle like this tests the alertness of children.
The thing with students is that they have short attention spans and get bored easily. This was true in the past and is even truer in the digital age, where holding the interest of children is very difficult. This is where clever riddles can break the impasse and get the children interested in information contained in the written word rather than their getting engrossed in electronic games as they are more likely.
Children can be asked to solve all kinds of riddles that will help them obtain valuable information that is useful to them in their studies-
● Geography riddles- What goes through towns and over hills, but never moves? Answer-A road!
● Math riddles-Using only addition, add eight 8s to get the number 1000. Answer-888+88+8+8=1000.
● (History riddles- I am the US President with the most children? Who am I? Answer-John Tyler
● Science riddles- Many have heard it, but nobody has ever seen it. It will not speak back unless spoken to. What is it? Answer- An echo.
These are the most popular ones and the most numerous and are used extensively in Dubai Montessori schools to help the little ones engage. Here are some examples:
1. What has to be broken before you can use it?
Answer- An egg.
2. What is full of holes but still holds water?
Answer: A sponge.
3. What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
Answer: The future.
4. What question can you never answer yes to?
Answer: Are you asleep yet?
5. There’s a one-story house in which everything is yellow. Yellow walls, yellow doors, yellow furniture. What color are the stairs?
Answer: There aren’t any-it’s a one-story house.
Hard riddles are the most difficult ones to solve, but in that lies all the fun. Let us check out a few-
1. What is there, one in every corner and two in every room?
Answer- The letter O.
2. What is stronger than steel but can’t handle the sun?
Answer-Ice.
3. What is it that no one wants, but no one wants to lose?
Answer- A lawsuit.
4. The more there is, the less you see. What am I?
Answer-Darkness
5. I have many faces, expressions and emotions and I am usually right at your fingertips. What am I?
Answer-Emojis
The most interesting part of a riddle is the fact that it contains a trick, That is what makes children take to them. Here are a few examples-
1. How can you add eight 6s together so that the total adds up to 750?
Answer-666+66+6+6=750
2. A little girl goes to the store and buys one dozen eggs and, as she is going home, all but three break. How many eggs are left unbroken?
Answer-Three
3. Friday, Jason and Jeff went to the store to buy some bread. The total of $12 was divided equally among the friends. Jason paid $4 and Jeff paid $4 as well. Who paid the other $4?
Answer-Friday
4. People make me, keep me, change me, raise me, even though I can be very dirty. What am I?
Answer-Money
5. A grandmother, two mothers and two daughters went to the cafe for some tea. They ordered one cup each. What was the total number of cups that they ordered?
Answer- (Three cups in scenario 1-Grandmother who has a daughter, the daughter who is also a mother when they order one for each person described. Alternatively in scenario 2 they order two cups where both people are mothers and daughters and one is a grandmother)
Funny riddles are always the children’s favorite. Here are a few examples-
1. How do you spell COW in 13 letters?
Answer -SEE O DOUBLE YOU
2. Why is Europe like a frying pan?
Answer- Because it has Greece at the bottom.
3. If two snakes marry, what will their towels say?
Answer-Hiss and Hers
4. What type of music do rabbits listen to?
Answer-Hip-hop.
5. What can’t the pirate ever finish the alphabet?
Answer- Because he is always lost at sea.
These are the most challenging ones. Here are a few-
1. How do you make the number 7 even without addition, subtraction, multiplication or division?
Answer- By dropping the S.
2. How can you take 2 from 5 and leave 4?
Answer- FIVE- Remove the letters F AND E and you are left with IV.
3. How many sides does a circle have?
Answer-Two- Inside and outside.
4. How many times can you subtract the number 5 from 25?
Answer- Once, as after subtracting 5 once, 25 becomes 20.
5. I am four times as old as my daughter. In 20 years time, I shall be twice as old as her. How old are we now?
Answer-The daughter is 10 and the mother is 40.
Word riddles are fun too. Let’s check out a few.
1. The poor have me; the rich need me. Eat me and you will die. What am I?
Answer-Nothing.
2. What has 13 hearts but no other organs?
Answer- A deck of cards.
3. I have branches but no fruit, trunk, or leaves. What am I?
Answer- A bank.
4. What word contains all of the twenty-six letters?
Answer-Alphabet
5. What do you get when you mix lemons with gun powder?
Answer-Lemonade.
Kids simply love animal riddles
1. He's small but he can climb a tower.
Answer-An ant.
2. What jumps when it walks and sits when it stands?
Answer-Kangaroo.
3. I am an animal named after the animal that I eat.
Answer-Anteater.
4. I sleep by day and fly at night, but I have no feathers to aid my flight.
What am I?
Answer-A bat
5. A king without a crown
Answer-Lion.
Science riddles help children get interested in the subject. Let us see how-
1. Which weighs more, a ton of concrete or a ton of feathers?
Answer-They weigh the same- A ton.
2. What can go up and down without moving?
Answer- Temperature.
3. What grows only upwards and can never come down?
Answer-Height.
4. What breaks, but never fails?
Answer- Dawn.
5. What has a mouth, but cannot chew?
Answer-River.
1. What was the biggest island in the world before the discovery of Australia by Captain Cook?
Answer- It was Australia, even before it got discovered?
2. What is the longest rope in the world?
Answer-Europe.
3. What is the capital of Asia?
Answer- It is a continent and so does not have a capital.
5. I am the 11th most populated country in the world. My native language is Spanish. I am home to the 18,000 foot volcano, Pico de Orizaba. What am I?
Answer- Mexico
6. Who built and lived in Teotihuacan, the most impressive pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city?
Answer-The Mayans
Family riddles are a great way to let very small children understand the concept of relationships.
1. A woman has six daughters and they each have a brother. How many children does she have?
Answer-7
2. If Fortune had a daughter, what would her name be?
Answer-Misfortune.
3. Mary has six brothers and five sisters. Yet, together they are 12 siblings. How so?
Answer-12 including Mary.
4. They are twin sisters, same height; they work in the kitchen, arm in arm. Whatever is cooked, they always try it first.
Answer-Chopsticks.
Food riddles are amongst the most exciting types of riddles as they have to do with what children love eating. A few examples
1. What is the wealthiest nut?
Answer-Cashew nut.
2. What vegetable is the most fun to be around and the one that everybody wants to hang out with?
Answer-Fungi
3. I am a fruit that is always sad. What am I?
Answer-A blueberry.
4. What kind of fruit do computer nerds love the most?
Answer-Macintosh Apples.
● Gets them to learn the language.
● Teaches them to solve problems.
● Tests their knowledge of the world.
● Sharpens their thinking abilities.
● Makes them bond with fellow students and teachers over a fun activity.
Riddles have been used since times immemorial to have fun and learn something in the process. Storytelling is an intrinsic part of a riddle and that is what makes them so effective in both educating and entertaining children.
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