What is a MAth Quest? Flash Freebie Included!

Over the past two years, I've been developing a range of Math Quests as another fun option to make math work entertaining and fun for the kids. During this time, I've received many questions about what a Math Quest is and what it involves, so I thought today that it would be best to create a post that will explain this type of activity . . . And include a Math Quest FLASH FREEBIE for you to try at the end. 

Find out at the end which one of my Math Quests is going FREE FOR A WEEK!
(May 7th, 2018 - May 13th, 2018)

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.

Click Here to Access Video Library

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.'

What DO I USE MATH QUESTS FOR?

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

Preparation and Set-Up

• 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. 

Differentiation Options

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.'

EASY

MEDIUM

HARD

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. 

Math Quest - OVER THE RAINBOW FLASH FREEBIE!!!

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

Video Hook Included

FIND THIS RESOURCE HERE - FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!

Did you like this Math Quest? 

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. 

FIND THE COMPLETE MATH QUEST BUNDLE HERE AND GET THEM ALL!