​What a great time of the year to be thankful for all the great things in our lives. This week, we want to say THANK YOU for all you do for students every day! In honor of you, we have teamed up to give some lucky educators a chance to win THREE $50 Gift Cards. Entry is easy, and you can increase your chances of winning by gaining entry points.

How to enter this giveaway is explained at the end of this resource roundup post which highlights some educational resources that you may be interested in using in your classroom or home school. 

​Welcome back! Start your year with these great products, activities, and projects featured from various TPT sellers. To celebrate the new school year, we will also be running a giveaway! Be sure to read till the end of this post to enter for a chance to win a TPT Gift Card to help kick start the back to school season. 

I'm really enjoying venturing into making mystery logic puzzles and am excited to share with you my latest creation this week. For this new puzzle, I've increased the difficulty by making it a 4 X 4 puzzle grid. The clues require careful reading too (and probably re-reading) to solve. 
These are handy to use when you have some time to spare but don't want to waste. I think these are a fun way to exercise the brain.

Prep

• Print and go!
  
• Save paper by laminating and using washable markers to reuse
  
• Use on a tablet with an electronic 'pen'
  
• Or just display on your Interactive White Board to try and solve as a class​

Download your free copy of this puzzle HERE! 

What is a Math Quest?
It begins with a story, both video hook and written versions of the story included in all quest packets. Check out a video hook intro below for 'Raiders of the Lost Egg.' The Video Hook presents the start of the story, designed to set the stage to engage your students. When the video hook ends, is when students must continue the story on the paper part of the activity beginning at 'Chapter 1.'

Access the Video Library to find and freely view all Math Quest Video Hooks. Look for the Math Quests header and click through titles underneath to view.

The rest of the story is a paper and pencil activity that continues in 'chapters.' Each chapter reveals the next part of the story, posing a math task to complete. Once the math task is complete, students may progress to the next chapter. See a sample page below from 'Redbeard's Rebellion' - Chapter 2 - 'Medium' Level Version. 

Each chapter will pose a different type of math challenge, involving one or a mix of skills. I've tried my best to set these pages up to make checking answers quick and easy for the teacher. For example, in the image above, the teacher would need to check if the student chose the correct direction. Also, the added totals for each wheel will give a better indication whether the student just 'guessed' or did the calculations correctly.
PLEASE NOTE:

• Some puzzles are 'open-ended' and will just need to be checked by the student, teacher or a partner to see if it 'works.'
• Some puzzles require a final code or 'special number' that will give you a quick indication if the calculations are correct. 
• Other pages may require a 'visual' check, such as did they color the right path on the maze, or climb the correct rocks to reach the top. I've included another sample chapter page in the image below.

(Please note that there are answer pages included with all quest packets.)

Sample Page - CHAPTER 2 EASY LEVEL from
​'ESCAPE MONSTER MANSION'

There are lots of different ways these chapters are presented to keep students interested and challenged.

The final chapter of each Math Quest will present some choices for actions to take in the story. Students make their choice and then complete the math in that section, carrying out instructions to receive a 'special number.' If they do the math correctly, the special number will match up to their ending of the story on the final page. Four alternate endings to receive! See sample below:

Final Chapter from 'The Heartless Queen' HARD LEVEL 

The 'NUMBER TOTAL' in their box chosen is a special number that they will need to use on the next page to discover their story ending. If they cannot find their special number, then they know they've made an error and must go over their calculations again. 

You would need to keep the story ending page hidden until a student has their special number ready.
Suggestion: You could hide the endings page in an envelope and ask students only to go and check once they have a special number ready.

Sample Endings page from'The Terrible Turkey Take Over.'

As you can see in the sample endings page above, there are little images paired with each paragraph. Like in a game this is the 'item' they receive upon completing the quest (image only). 

If students want to go back to achieve a different ending, you could allow that as long as they complete the math in the box for it. 

There are early finisher worksheets included with each packet. Students can continue the quest fun with these simple extra activities while waiting for others to finish. Please see a sample below from 'School Jungle Jam.'

Math quests are great to use for:

• Enrichment
• Set one chapter at a time as a math warm-up activity
• Engaging work around holiday seasons - Most of these quests have a 'holiday' theme if you wish to incorporate into a certain day. However, they are designed to be able to use any time of the year in case you miss the chance around a certain period.
• Early finishers - Set this up as a booklet for your fast finishers to work on whenever there's time to spare.
• Extra math practice with a fun twist.
• Homework/assignment
• End of the Year work that is fun but still educational

• Print, photocopy and go. (Save paper by only printing the chapter pages that require writing on). 
• You could staple all of the chapters together and give to students all at once to work on, OR only give out one chapter at a time to complete. I recommend that students must show a completed chapter before receiving the next.  
• Set the (optional) video hook to the board ready for viewing when introducing the task.
• Hide the 'endings' page in an envelope or somewhere special (optional).
• Have your answer key ready for easy checking. 

You may have noticed that I marked the sample pages with 'EASY' 'MEDIUM' and 'HARD.' That is because each Math Quest is available in three modes of difficulty. The story is the same, but the math and puzzle difficulty changes.
You can differentiate this activity in your class by giving out different levels of the same quest. 
The chapters are interchangeable, which means you can adjust the difficulty for certain chapters.  
See example below from 'Reindeer Roundup - Chapter 1.'

There is nowhere marked on a student page easy, medium, or hard. So, unless you tell them, your students won't know what level they have. The pages are 'symbol' coded so that only teachers know what the level of difficulty is. 

If you own the differentiated bundle of a math quest, you will have all the levels available for that quest ready to pick and swap as you wish. Otherwise, individual levels are available for separate purchase. 

As promised at the start of this post, I'd make a full differentiated Math Quest FREE for ONE WEEK! Don't miss out on a chance to download 'OVER THE RAINBOW' and try a Math Quest out to see if you and your students like this type of activity. All three levels are included within the differentiated packet so that you can also try 'swapping' chapters. 

Because of the leprechaun and pot of gold theme, 'Over the Rainbow' can be incorporated with a St. Patrick's Day theme. However, this is still fine to use any time of the year, especially at the end of the year. So print, copy, and there's a fun activity you can do with your class tomorrow. 

Your feedback on this resource would be appreciated.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS RESOURCE. 
Please note: After one week, the price of this product will return to $7.95

If you like this product, you may wish to bundle and save with the COMPLETE MATH QUEST BUNDLE below. All levels are included at a super discounted price. 

Store: Heart 2 Heart Teaching
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/h2hteaching/

Hip, Hip, Hooray for May! May is such a fun month with special holidays such as Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day. Our May BUNDLE has all you need to celebrate them all and more! It's made up of 6 mini-units to celebrate this fun-filled month! A Father's Day Flip Book and End of the Year Activities are included in this bundle for the month of June! This bundle includes topics related to social studies, science, and special holidays that are all related to the month of May and June. 

Store: Heart 2 Heart Teaching
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/h2hteaching/

​These Growth Mindset Class Awards are perfect for the end of the year! Thus pack includes 36 different colorful designs with and without clipart. Plus they are EDITABLE so you can personalize them too!

Store: Mrs. J’s Resource Creations
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mrsjsresourcecreations/

Oh dear! The gremlins have stolen all of the Graduation items putting a damper on things at the end of the year. Students must use their math skills to unlock special clues that will help figure out where those pesky gremlins are hiding. No prep required, just print and go! An optional video hook is also provided to set the stage to engage! 

Store: Mrs. J’s Resource Creations
Send your students on an epic Math Quest with this exciting pirate story “Redbeard’s Rebellion”. It covers a mix of math skills, making it an excellent activity for practice and review at the end of the year. With six exciting chapters to work through, students can end up with one of four possible endings. Great activity for enrichment, early finishers, sub tub or to just add a bit of extra fun to math review time. 
Available in three difficulty levels - easy, medium, and hard. Purchase levels separately or bundle and get all three for the price of two levels. 

Optional Video Hook provided to introduce students to the activity. A written story is also provided in the download. Use one or the other (or both if you wish). 

Store: Angie S
​Count by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. This is a set of 10 picture puzzles for skip counting practice. They are self correcting. The spring theme will engage students and offer guided practice as the final picture will control for errors. 

Store: Angie S

Spring Beginning Letter Clip Cards is a great activity for literacy stations or for early finishers. It allows children to engage their pre-reading skills (phonemic awareness) by identifying beginning letter sounds of various images. 

Store: Mrs. Hansen’s Helpfuls
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/mrshansenshelpfuls/
​
End the year with this great literature activity. Perfect for helping students learn about the Civil War and impact on others. This unit also comes with a fantastic project that goes with the book.

​End the year with a BANG of a lesson plan! This War of 1812 unit will help you complete the Grade 2 CKLA units with a great end of the year writing activity too!

Store: Kelly Malloy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.malloy.12
Math Facts Practice Made Fun! 

I am always looking for ways for my students to get more practice with their math facts. Games are the easiest way to do that - the students don't even realize they are working! 

This is a version of the Kaboom game with a water balloon fight twist. Students choose a card, and get to keep it if they answer the math fact correctly. BUT... if they draw the dreaded splash card they have to put ALL of their cards back. the winner is the player with the most cards at the end of the game. Place the cards in a bucket or pail for an even more summer feel!

This game features facts up to 10 + 10 and can be played with all of the cards or just selected cards for differentiation.

Store: Kelly Malloy
​
Math facts made fun! Motivate your students to learn their math facts! 

Want to get your students excited about learning their addition facts? Try this fun karate/martial arts incentive program with your class! I've been using this program with my students and have found it to be a very successful and motivating way for my students to learn/memorize their math facts. It only takes about 5-10 minutes a day to incorporate in your math block and your students will be begging to take timed tests each day to pass to the next level and earn their black belt in addition!
The program works with brain research and introduces only a few new facts each day. It engages both written and oral practice at school and at home. As students pass levels, they earn new colored “belts” on their way towards earning a black belt.

Enter the Rafflecopter Widget below for a chance to win all of these featured resources PLUS a $50 TPT Gift Card to go on a resource shopping spree! Carry out the steps to earn extra entry points to increase your chances of winning!

GOOD LUCK! Thank you for participating in this giveaway. :)

It is not just college basketball players who get to have all the fun! Teachers are CRAZY busy in March with test prep, St. Patrick’s Day, upcoming Easter holiday, and more! We have put together some fun activities to help make lesson planning a little easier.  Plus, follow the Rafflecopter link at the bottom of the page to win a $50 TPT gift card and ALL the products listed!

Created by Jewel's School Gems

Are you constantly on the lookout for resources that promote learning and engagement even during the holidays and near school breaks? Why not try STEM projects for a change! This Easter STEM Challenge Bundle provides hours of engineering fun while making sure your students do their research, follow the engineering design process, and reflect as to what worked and did not work. Your kiddos can design and build an Easter egg basket, an egg launcher, and an egg conveyor belt using simple and affordable materials. You and your students will surely enjoy these Easter STEM activities. Check it out today!!

See these activities in action . . . 

Created by Angie S

See this resource in action!

Created by Mrs J's Resource Creations

Created by Mrs J's Resource Creations

Created by Mrs. Hansen's Helpfuls

For many classrooms we are starting to prepare for upcoming state testing. I always break this product out this time of year to help students with multi-step word problems. This product allows the teacher to break students into differentiated groups where students can also present how they solved the problem. This product also works with whole class instruction too. 

Created by Mrs. Hansen's Helpfuls

​Many teachers teaching second grade CKLA this year, are already reading or about to start Sir Gus Unit 5. This product will help improve and assess student comprehension and grammar skills for this book. In addition, this unit now includes a spelling component.

Created by Kelly Malloy

​Need to incorporate research writing into your curriculum? This is a perfect product for introducing report writing centered on your student's choice of country. Students will complete their own mini-book about the country of their choice along with an oral presentation. 

Created by Kelly Malloy

​These calculator word fun task cards are a fun and engaging way for your students to practice math computation tasks (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). 
Do you remember typing numbers into a calculator and then flipping it over to see a word? Maybe you typed in .07734 to see the word hello? Now your students will have the same great memories as they practice math skills, and then check their answers using a calculator. 
These task cards can be used as a math center, with small groups, for fast finishers, or even as a whole class scavenger hunt.
You can use the cards alone, or use the task card answer sheets included.
I have included 48 task cards including 24 whole number cards and 24 decimal cards to allow for differentiation. 

Entry for this giveaway competition is easy via the Rafflecopter below. Once entries close, the Rafflecopter will select one lucky winner to receive a $50 TPT gift card plus all of the resources featured in this blog post. Thank you for participating. :)