When using any of the math mystery resources from my range as a class activity, I recommend pacing the case clue by clue rather than giving your students all of the five clue worksheets in one go. By pacing the clues, it will stop some students from racing too far ahead of the rest, while others are left behind.  Turning a math mystery into a competition has its benefits, and certainly is still a fine approach to using these if you prefer to give all five clues in a booklet format for students to work on at their own pace. However, in this post, I aim to outline five tips with suggestions that will help set up ALL of your students for math mystery success!

The previous post aimed at providing some insight to introversion. If you suspect that you have one or more introverted students in your classroom (there's a high chance that you will at least have one), below are some strategies that you can implement in your classroom to help them thrive in school. 

I used a simple brownie mix and kept it in one piece to first explain that the cake in this tin is a whole. We spoke about that it is ONE whole brownie cake.

Next, cut up the brownie cake into 20 equal sized pieces. Then discuss that 20 pieces of brownies make up one whole in this cake tin. So 20 is the denominator for our fractions in this brownie tray.
I tried my best to keep the size of each brownie the same - point out that when working with fractions each part needs to be equal. 

Then to start practicing writing fractions, use some different candy to decorate the individual brownies. I used jellybeans, coins, m&m's, and monster wrapped candy.  
For example in the image below:
1. Ask students how many of the brownies are decorated with M&M's? 
There are 5 brownies decorated with M&M's.
2. Ask how many brownies are in total?
20
3. How can we show this by writing a fraction?  The number decorated in m&m's is the numerator, and the total amount of brownies is the denominator.
 5 
20

4. If doing this with older grades, you could also further discuss simplifying the fraction as an answer.  
  1 
 4

Then continue to do the same with different types of decorations. 

And then you can also do fractions for brownies without decorations.

I didn't put icing on the brownies so that I could easily change the decorations on top and keep practicing fractions as many times as needed. 

Decorating some delicious treats is a fun way to help kids build an understanding of fractions. Grab a sweet differentiated fraction FREEBIE down below.

In the free download, you will receive TWO sets of the same three worksheets.
The first three are in easy mode, keeping the denominator the same as the total number for students to work with. Great for beginners.

The second set of the three worksheets, works best for students who have an understanding of equivalent fractions. The fraction rules are given in simplified form. 

Find Decorating with Fractions for Free here.

This week I'd like to share an anchor chart I made to teach addition with regrouping. I found the use of place value blocks helpful in explaining the concept of carrying the ten over. 

The different colors used are intended to help highlight and show the steps throughout the process.  

Step 1 - Look at the ones first! 
Count the one blocks to find the total. Draw them.
In the chart example, there are 15 one blocks. 

Step 2- Explain that we can't put 15 in the ONES position, so if we have 10 ones, we must regroup them and turn them into a ten block. Demonstrate that this new ten block formed from the ones is CARRIED over to the top of the other ten blocks. In the numerical form, we represent this by adding a '1' to the top of the column. 

Step 3 - Then add the ten blocks together (including the carried over ten block). In the chart example we have 10 + 50 + 30  90.  Or 9 ten blocks which equals 90. Take the 9 (in the tens position) to sit in the TENS position of the answer. 

So, the answer for the chart example is 95! . 

If you are looking for a fun way to get lots of addition practice in, you may like to try this fun addition math mystery 'Case of The Angry Adder'
Available in different difficulty levels. Click on a grade cover to find out the addition skills covered in each.

Counting & Ordering Numbers 1-20 Activity
For this simple activity, I labeled the numbers 1-20 on the individual Lego blocks.  On the opposite side of each block, I drew the amount of dots to represent the number (optional).

Once ready to begin the activity, spread the blocks out and jumble the numbers around as in the picture below. Keep all of the numerals facing upwards. Then, set the challenge to build a tower putting the numbers in the correct order from 1-20.

If stuck on the number, count the dots! 

I put Lego wheels on the base for my son since he loves trucks and cars, but any Lego base will do to help the tower from falling. He enjoyed driving his tower of 20 blocks around once he finished the task.

Differentiation option for older kids – Comparing and Ordering Larger Numbers
This activity can easily be adapted to suit older kids to work on comparing ordering larger numbers.
To do this, all I would do is label the blocks with the numbers appropriate to challenge the level of difficulty my students need.. Below is an example set for ordering 4-digit numbers.

​Then set the challenge to build a tower in ‘ascending’ order (from least to greatest). 

​Another great activity that can be used at home or in the classroom is this fun Math Mystery below, which focuses on Comparing and Ordering numbers, 'Case of The Outback Outlaw'. Kids will be practicing this important skill whilst also working on solving who stole the opals from the Coober Pedy mine in the Outback of Australia.
It's available in four different levels to choose difficulty from. Click on the grade level version below to find out what number range/s are explored in each..
​ 

For this post I made three sets of different patterns. I'll share a yummy choc-chip recipe at the end of this post, but any cookie recipe will do to use as a visual.
You may choose to vary the level of difficulty in number patterns presented  depending on your class level/ability. 

​I've outlined my instruction/questioning suggestions within this post.: 

1. Display one set of cookies in their pattern sequence (like in the photo above). I recommend using the basic choc-chips, or something all in one color first.)
2. Ask students to observe the arrangement of cookies. Discuss what they see, and direct towards looking for a number pattern. Some questions you could ask to guide, include:
- What do you notice about the cookies?
- Can you see a pattern? 
- What is the pattern doing?
You may get a variety of answers, such as (if using a pattern like in the image above): more choc-chips are added to each cookie; There is an odd number of choc-chips; two extra choc-chips are added to each cookie. 

After discussing student observations, ask (and guide if necessary) if they can come up with a rule for the pattern presented in the cookies. Model out your thoughts if necessary.
For example:
'There seems to be a growing number of choc-chips on the cookies. It starts off with 3, then 5, 7, 9, 11. The difference in choc-chips between each cookie is 2. So each time, two more choc-chips are added. So the rule must be 'Add 2.'

After coming up with the pattern rule, draw three circles (to represent empty cookies) on the board. (or instruct students to draw them on a piece of paper). Instruct students to continue the pattern by drawing the choc-chips on to the empty cookies to represent each number. If students are coping well at this point, extend the task for them to come up with the next three or more numbers in the sequence without the use of drawing choc-chips on the cookies and applying the pattern rule.  

When doing instructional lessons like this, I like to do more than one example, so I will share the other cookie sequences I made. 

I went with mini M&M's for this batch because they were smaller and worked better for squeezing lots onto a single cookie. 
​

Exploring number patterns with larger quantities can get quite tricky when working with average sized cookies. As you can see in the image above, the cookie base had to get a little bit bigger to accommodate all of the M&M's. 
If you decide to go with M&M's, the colors may confuse some students; however, I think it would also be a fantastic initial challenge to see who can look beyond the colors and see that the pattern lies in the quantities. 

Similar to the suggestions in the first batch of cookies, guide students through figuring out the pattern rule (perhaps with a little less guidance to see if they are catching on the thought process).

Depending how your students are going with the concept, this time instruct them to draw the next three cookies of the pattern themselves to continue the number sequence. Then another three numbers just applying the rule.

For the third cookie pattern sequence, again depending how the class went with the first two, just display the cookies.  
 .  

Yeah.....That first cookie with lots of choc-chips should have 20 -just in case you miss counting the one choc-chip hanging off the side at the bottom left of it. Baking isn't one of my strengths;. I must admit that I got more excited about the math part when making these.) 

For the third round of cookie patterns, see if students can independently figure out the pattern rule and solve what the next number in the sequence should be. 
For this particular sequence, the next number would be 0 as the rule is 'subtract 4.' If doing this with older or gifted students, you could set the challenge to come up with the next three numbers of the sequence and dive into negative integers. So then in this example, 0, -4, -8. 

Once students are ready, discuss answers as a class.

Then, you could use the free worksheet I have provided in the download below, to continue practicing this style of cookie patterns. The download includes to cookie pattern practice sheets and a free empty cookie pattern template for students to have a go at creating their own number patterns. 

At the end of the lesson, enjoy sharing the cookies to eat with your class. You might need to set some sort of competition (or use as a reward) to give students choices of which cookie . . . I know which cookie I'd want!
Suggestions:
- Set the challenge for the student who can figure out all the pattern rules first; or
- who can come up with the most interesting number patterns. 
​ 

So for those of you who are not keen on baking, but want to quickly whip up a batch of cookies for a math lesson, this recipe is super easy. Definitely not the yummiest chocolate-chip cookie recipe I've made, but when using for mathematical purposes and short on time this one wins.

​

Ingredients

• 2 Cups of Plain Flour
• 1 Cup of firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 200g of butter at room temperature
• Lots of chocolate-chips or M&M's to use for your patterns. 

STEP 1
Preheat oven to 356F or 180C. Grease 2 baking trays with melted butter.

STEP 2
Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well between each addition until combined. Stir in the flour until combined. Use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl.

STEP 3.
Roll 2-teaspoons portions of the mixture into balls. Place, about 5cm apart, on the prepared trays. Use a fork to flatten slightly. If planning to make patterns with large quantities, you may need to fiddle around with the size of your cookies to accommodate. 

STEP 4 
Arrange chocolate chips onto your cookies (I like to make the patterns per row on the tray). Bake for 18 minutes or until golden and just cooked through. Set aside on the trays for 10 minutes to cool.

Below are my very rushed cookies (a 3 year old- and 8 month old around my legs in the kitchen makes it a little challenging.)

So there's a new and different approach to starting out your number patterns unit. If you would like to share your cookie patterns or teaching ideas with this, I;d love to hear them and share with everyone. 


Are you looking for more fun ways to practice number patterns? You may like to try my Patterns Math Mystery 'Case of The Poisonous Pizzas.' It comes with a video introduction (view below) to 'hook' your students into the activity.

Click on the cover images below to find out the pattern skills covered in each grade edition. The clues are interchangeable if you need to differentiate this activity for your students.

You may also be interested in this Patterns Games Page which provides a menu of free games provided on other websites. CLICK HERE TO VIEW.

Thank you for reading and checking out my website!