What is a Math Mystery?

What is a math mystery?

9/26/2017

$Picture$

A Math Mystery (in my designed range) is a resource that reviews math skills to discover important clues and then further requires critical thinking skills to solve the case. In this post, you can find out a bit more about math mysteries if you are unsure what they are and how to use them. A full FREE math mystery is also included at the end of this post for you to try.

First, SET THE STAGE TO ENGAGE!

Each Math Mystery begins with an opening one-page story (as in the image below). The story sets up the mystery and has been designed to engage students. We are now also creating VIDEO HOOKS for the math mysteries, which are an optional extra that can be used to introduce your class to the activity and ‘hook’ them into the math work. (View an example Video Hook below too).

WRITTEN STORY

VIDEO HOOK (OPTIONAL)

Please note that not all of the math mysteries have video hooks yet. However, it is a goal we have to make one for all of them. Check the product description or my video hook library on this website to see which titles have videos available to use.

CHOOSE to use either the written story or video hook to introduce the activity to your students. You could choose to use both if you wish.

AN EXTENSIVE LIST OF POSSIBILITIES!

Each Math mystery for 2nd grade and up comes with a long list of possible solutions to the mystery component of the activity (see image A). The 1st-grade math mysteries come with fewer options and visual pictures instead (see image B). These are designed to make the guessing factor fun and large for the older grades. For the table list of suspects, you could assign a suspect to each student to make it extra exciting.

IMAGE A.

IMAGE B.

Depending on the mystery, The list may contain either or a combination of possible suspects, locations, cures or scenarios. But, no matter what the mystery solution needs to be, the process works the same way and will require an elimination to narrow it down to one single row remaining on the list. The last row remaining (if done correctly) is the answer to the mystery!
*Eliminate whole rows at a time.

FIVE CLUE SHEETS WITH MATH QUESTIONS

Every math mystery in my range is consistent with having five clues to solve. Each clue sheet will require students to carry out math work. If the answers are correct, an important clue reveals in a message! If the clue doesn’t make sense, then students will know there are errors in their answers. The fact that these are practically self-checking also reduces teacher marking time...YAY!!!

Sorry about the scrunched paper, my 9 month old daughter kept trying to grab them.

To quickly and easily find out the math skill covered in each clue, check the product description of the math mystery grade version you would like.

$Picture$

The clue sheets (as long as it is the same clue number) are interchangeable between the 2nd to 8th-grade math mysteries (as long as the story title is the same); so you can swap pages around to tailor the mystery to suit your learners and differentiate within your classroom. For example, in the image below.
You can try this out with the free mystery at the end.

2nd Grade version of clue 1 of the same math mystery. Same clue, different math.

Example 3rd grade version - Make Clue 1 more challenging by swapping with a higher grade level. OR make it easier by swapping with a lower grade level.
<<<<<---------------->>>>>>

4th grade version of clue 1 of the same math mystery. The clue revealed will be the same.

critical thinking

On top of all the math questions embedded into the mystery, critical thinking is an additional must to solve the mystery component of the activity. Upon discovery of a clue, students must read, comprehend and think about what the clue means for them to do with the LIST given. It doesn’t always tell you who or what to cross off; sometimes it is giving you a clue as to who to keep instead! Some clues can be quite tricky (but make for great discussions). The clues are sometimes straightforward and easy to interpret with what to do, others can be in a riddle form (like the one below), that will require an extra step in thinking about the elimination step.

Example:
"A LADY WAS ABLE TO SCARE OFF THE ANTIHERO WITH COOKIES'
If a lady was able to scare the antihero away with cookies, then the Super Bad Superhero MUST HAVE a weakness to cookies. Some students may accidentally cross off all suspects with a weakness to cookies. However, it SHOULD be to cross off all suspects that have a weakness to something else and KEEP only suspects with a weakness to cookies.

SOLVE IT!

By the end of the five clues, if done correctly, only one row will remain. That row provides the answer to the mystery!

Once students declare the correct mystery answer, you have the optional award provided within the download that you can give to them.

If the student gets the correct mystery answer, only a glance over the completed clue sheets is all the marking you will need to do.

MULTIPLE USES FOR THE CLASSROOM OR AT HOME

There are multiple uses for math mysteries. These included, but are not limited to,

classroom review activity,
extra Practice (especially at the end of math units – try a concept focused one for this type of use.)
spiral review (especially the holiday/season themed ones)
include in your math centers,
leave for a sub,
make them an early finisher task
enrichment work (use higher grade level versions to set a challenge)
set for homework assignments.