Trouble has struck Mathhattan! The “Case of The Tricking Treat” is one of my favorite Halloween lessons because it solves the biggest problem teachers face: differentiated instruction.
This Halloween math resource (available for Grades 1-8, Common Core Aligned) uses a fun story and clues to engage students, but the true power is in its flexibility.
The story and mystery outcome are the same across all grade levels. This allows your entire classroom to feel like they are working together on one cohesive task—no more separate, segregated assignments!
You can easily differentiate within your classroom by swapping clue skills from each grade (as long as each clue matches the clue number in the other grade).
For example: If Clues 3 and 4 in the Grade 3 version are too easy for a few students, you can swap them for Clues 3 and 4 from the Grade 4 version to make it more challenging. The mystery outcome will be the same, but you have instantly leveled the playing field in your classroom!
This fun Halloween math mystery will get your students motivated to practice their math skills as they must find out which suspect is giving tricking treats to children!
