Description

Celebrate the Lunar New Year with this Chinese New Year Math Mystery 4th Grade activity! ‘The Case of the Red Envelope Riddles’ is a high-engagement math review that challenges students to solve clues involving long division with remainders, improper fractions, and area to find the missing lucky money.

It’s the perfect no-prep math activity! This resource is loaded with options, including an optional video hook and a NEW ending video (with voiceovers!) to wrap up the case!

Easy Prep for Print or Digital

This resource is designed to be low-prep for you and high-engagement for your students.

• Printable PDF Version: Just print the worksheets, staple, and go.
• Google Slides Digital Version: 100% paperless! Simply assign in Google Classroom. (Students must be in ‘edit mode’ to type).
• Metric & Customary Included: You get file options for both measurement systems!

Chinese New Year Math Mystery 4th Grade Activity

To find the red envelope, students must unlock five clues by correctly solving a standards-aligned math review:

• Clue 1: Fractions (Converting Improper Fractions to Mixed Numbers)
• Clue 2: Multiplication (Double-Digit by Single-Digit Numbers)
• Clue 3: Long Division (With Remainders – dividing 2 and 3-digit numbers by 1-digit)
• Clue 4: Decimals (Converting fractions with denominators of 10 and 100 to decimals)
• Clue 5: Area (Calculating the area of rectangles)

Flexible for Any 4th Grade Classroom

Use this versatile holiday math worksheets alternative for:

• A fun activity for Lunar New Year celebrations
• Math centers or stations
• Homework or enrichment
• Your “early finisher” tub
• A lifesaver for your sub-tub!

Pacing & Timing

This is a comprehensive review that can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2+ hours, depending on your students’ skill level. We recommend pacing it by one clue at a time.

Common Questions for this 4th Grade Math Review

Q: Is “Long Division with Remainders” too hard?
A: Clue 3 focuses specifically on division where remainders occur. This is a critical 4th-grade standard (4.NBT.B.6) that students often struggle with. By wrapping it in a mystery, students are motivated to persevere through the calculation to get the clue!

Q: Does this cover Decimals?
A: Yes! Clue 4 helps students practice converting fractions with denominators of 10 and 100 into decimals (e.g., 3/10 = 0.3), which aligns with standard 4.NF.C.6.

Q: How does differentiation work with these?
A: That’s our secret weapon! Many of our stories are available for other grades, so you can “clue swap” with the 2-6 grade packs. We even have a blog post explaining how: learn how to differentiate here.

Other Grade Editions Available!

Love this ‘Red Envelope Riddles’ theme? This mystery is also available for other grade levels (great for differentiation)!

• 1st Grade Edition
• 2nd Grade Edition
• 3rd Grade Edition
• 5th Grade Edition
• 6th Grade Edition

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A complete answer key and printable awards are included!

 

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