Make Halloween math fun for your youngest detectives with this Halloween Math Mystery 1st Grade activity: The Case of the Tricking Treat. Students practice comparing numbers, counting forward, counting objects, and simple addition and subtraction within 20.
Easy prep! Just print and solve, or go paperless with the Google Slides option provided within your download. An optional video hook is included for introducing the case, and a bonus ending video wraps up the case.
Someone has been handing out tricking treats to children this Halloween! Your student detectives must complete the math worksheets to unlock essential clues and narrow down a list of spooky suspects. The last suspect left on the list is the one behind the tricking treats.
There are five clues to crack to solve the mystery:
Students must use critical thinking skills to work out what each clue is telling them to eliminate from the list of suspects.
For Teachers: This resource is designed to be low-prep for you and high-engagement for your students. Have the video hook ready on an IWB, iPad, or computer screen, hand out the pages, and the lesson runs itself.
For Students: This Halloween math mystery 1st grade feels like a game. Every correct answer brings them one clue closer to solving the case.
This edition is written for 1st grade students. It is suitable for independent, pairs, or group work. Use it for:
Pacing and Timing: Time to complete will vary anywhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours or more. It mainly depends on how familiar your students are with the math mystery format, and how difficult they find the math skills covered in the clues. Please check the skills above to help determine suitability for your class.
I recommend pacing this activity by giving students one clue at a time. Once the whole class has completed a clue, move on to the next clue, either within the same lesson or in the next math session. New math content presented? Make a lesson out of it by modeling the math before diving into the clue. I like to say, “We must learn something new before attempting the next clue.” If you use the clues in a different order, keep the suspect list away from students until all five clues are complete.
The Case of the Tricking Treat is also available for the other grade levels listed below. If you would like more challenging math skills, select a higher grade level version of this mystery.
The clues are the same in the other grades when the mystery story is the same; the math is what is different between the grade packs. I designed the mysteries this way so you can differentiate the task within your classroom without your students knowing they might have an easier or harder version than their peers. You can also “clue swap” across grades (except for the 1st grade version) as long as the clue numbers match. This blog post explains how: learn how to differentiate here.
There are many different mystery titles in my store if you would like more Math Mysteries with different clues and solutions.
Looking for more? The ‘Tricking Treat’ mystery is part of the 1st Grade Math Mystery Bundle, if you’d like a full set of resources in one place.
Not sure what a math mystery is? Read What is a Math Mystery? on my blog.
Add extra motivation with the free Detective Rank Chart and Mystery Record. New to math mysteries? Try the free Case of the Super Bad Superhero first.
Yes. The clues focus on comparing numbers to 40, counting to 50, and adding or subtracting small numbers within 20, so it works well in the fall.
The 1st grade version has its own clue structure, so clue swapping works between the 2nd to 8th grade editions only. You can still use the higher editions for students who need more challenge.
Not at all. The theme is “spooky but safe” and fun for Halloween without being frightening for students.
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Thank you!
Jacqui J.
Mrs. J’s Resource Creations
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