Back to School Math Activity: 8th Grade Math Mystery Game

What others say

"My students really enjoyed this! Loved that it was one page per concept! They really enjoyed watching the videos at the beginning of the mystery. "

Ana D.

"I ADORE Math Mysteries. My students do not even look at these as learning! You just print and go! I have been buying these for years."

Jeanie L.

Description

Back to School Math Mystery Activity - 8th Grade Edition Math Worksheets (Reviews 7th Grade Math Skills - ideal for assessment at the beginning of the school year).

Mystery Case: The Case of the Cursed Classrooms

Useful as a fun way to practice and review math skills early in the school year.

Students must use their math skills to unlock clues. Then, use their powers of deduction to narrow down the suspects to find who cursed the classrooms!

Easy prep!

Printable PDF - print, copy, solve!
Digital worksheets with Google Slides or EASEL

Suggestion: Pace the clues one by one to keep the class at the same point. If using the clues in a different order, keep the suspect list away from students until all five clues are completed and discovered.

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⭐Optional video hook included for introducing the case (now with a voiceover)! Check out in the preview section.

⭐Ending Video Clip is also included to wrap up the mystery!

⭐Math Skills Required to Unlock Clues⭐

There are five clues to crack to solve the mystery:

Clue 1: Add and Subtract Decimals (Positive & Negative)
Clue 2: Calculate Unit Prices with Decimals
Clue 3: Multiply and Divide Decimals (Positive & Negative)
Clue 4: Solve Linear Equations with like terms (Solve for x)
Clue 5: Ordering a mix of Positive and negative numbers, integers, decimals, percents, and fractions.

Students must use critical thinking skills to figure out what the clue is telling them to eliminate from the list of possibilities.

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Multiple Uses

Consolidation

- Practice and Review

- Math Centers

- Early Finishers

- Substitute Teachers

- Assessment for learning

- Homework

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How long will this activity take?

Time to complete varies depending on your student's familiarity with the math mystery format and the skills required to unlock clues. You can pace it out by completing one clue a day --> there are five clues!

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Need different math skills? Check out the other grade editions available below to solve the Case of the Cursed Classrooms (great for differentiating in your classrooms too):

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You may also be interested in these other 8th Grade Math Mysteries

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not sure what a math mystery is? CLICK HERE to watch a video about Math Mysteries.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRY A FULL FREE MATH MYSTERY HERE (GRADES 1 - 6 DIFFERENTIATED BUNDLE)

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For more ideas, activities, and resources, follow my store to stay updated on new releases - >> CLICK HERE to follow my store <<

We can also stay connected via:

Blog

Pinterest

Facebook

_________________________________________________________________

Thank you!

Mrs. J.

2020(c)

Report this resource to TPT

Reported resources will be reviewed by our team. Report this resource to let us know if this resource violates TPT's content guidelines.

Back to School Math Activity: 8th Grade Math Mystery Game

Name: Back to School Math Activity: 8th Grade Math Mystery Game
Brand: Mrs J's Resource Creations
SKU: 5834203
Price: 4.95 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.78 (41 reviews)

Mrs J's Resource Creations

41.6k Followers

$4.95

Highlights

Digital downloads

Easel Activities, Google Apps

Grades

7th - 9th

Subjects

Math, Other (Math)

Standards

CCSS8.EE.C.7

CCSSMP1

What others say

"My students really enjoyed this! Loved that it was one page per concept! They really enjoyed watching the videos at the beginning of the mystery. "

Ana D.

"I ADORE Math Mysteries. My students do not even look at these as learning! You just print and go! I have been buying these for years."

Jeanie L.

Save even more with bundles

Back to School Math Mystery Differentiated GRADE BUNDLE - Cursed Classrooms

This Back to School Math Mystery Differentiated Bundle contains all of the printable and Google Slide worksheet grade versions for the Case of The Cursed Classrooms available (Grades 1-8). This bundle is great if you need to differentiate within your classroom because the clues are interchangeable

Price $12.95Original Price $36.00Save $23.05

8th Grade Math Mystery COMPLETE BUNDLE Fun Math Review Activities

Math Mysteries COMPLETE collection for 8th Grade. This complete math mystery bundle contains all of my math mysteries for Grade 8! Make math fun and exciting with these engaging activities that will motivate even some of your most reluctant learners.Printable Worksheets and Digital worksheets via Go

Price $48.36Original Price $60.45Save $12.09

Description

Back to School Math Mystery Activity - 8th Grade Edition Math Worksheets (Reviews 7th Grade Math Skills - ideal for assessment at the beginning of the school year).

Mystery Case: The Case of the Cursed Classrooms

Useful as a fun way to practice and review math skills early in the school year.

Students must use their math skills to unlock clues. Then, use their powers of deduction to narrow down the suspects to find who cursed the classrooms!

Easy prep!

Printable PDF - print, copy, solve!
Digital worksheets with Google Slides or EASEL

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

⭐Optional video hook included for introducing the case (now with a voiceover)! Check out in the preview section.

⭐Ending Video Clip is also included to wrap up the mystery!

⭐Math Skills Required to Unlock Clues⭐

There are five clues to crack to solve the mystery:

Clue 1: Add and Subtract Decimals (Positive & Negative)
Clue 2: Calculate Unit Prices with Decimals
Clue 3: Multiply and Divide Decimals (Positive & Negative)
Clue 4: Solve Linear Equations with like terms (Solve for x)
Clue 5: Ordering a mix of Positive and negative numbers, integers, decimals, percents, and fractions.

Students must use critical thinking skills to figure out what the clue is telling them to eliminate from the list of possibilities.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Multiple Uses

Consolidation

- Practice and Review

- Math Centers

- Early Finishers

- Substitute Teachers

- Assessment for learning

- Homework

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How long will this activity take?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Need different math skills? Check out the other grade editions available below to solve the Case of the Cursed Classrooms (great for differentiating in your classrooms too):

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You may also be interested in these other 8th Grade Math Mysteries

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not sure what a math mystery is? CLICK HERE to watch a video about Math Mysteries.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRY A FULL FREE MATH MYSTERY HERE (GRADES 1 - 6 DIFFERENTIATED BUNDLE)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more ideas, activities, and resources, follow my store to stay updated on new releases - >> CLICK HERE to follow my store <<

We can also stay connected via:

Blog

Pinterest

Facebook

_________________________________________________________________

Thank you!

Mrs. J.

2020(c)

Report this resource to TPT

Reported resources will be reviewed by our team. Report this resource to let us know if this resource violates TPT's content guidelines.

4.8

Rated 4.78 out of 5, based on 41 reviews

41
ratings

Mostly used with 8th grade

Reviews

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

11th

12th

All verified TPT purchases

Fun Activity

Rated 5 out of 5

December 11, 2025

Great mystery game. My students enjoyed doing this in class!

Tanya W.

61 reviews • Louisiana

Grades taught: 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th

Student populations: Learning difficulties

Super Engaging

Rated 5 out of 5

November 20, 2025

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

My students love doing the math mysteries and look forward to them!

Math Medic

(TPT Seller)

221 reviews • New York

Grades taught: 7th

Great resource!

Rated 5 out of 5

November 13, 2025

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

Great supplemental resource to use with students! They enjoyed completing it!

Holly L.

495 reviews • Illinois

Grades taught: 8th

Engaging and Effective Resource!

Rated 5 out of 5

October 4, 2025

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

I love these!! No prep and super easy to use. Great to use for review.

Jessica W.

668 reviews • Texas

Grades taught: 8th

Student populations: Autism, Emerging bilinguals, Learning difficulties, Mild to severe disabilities

So fun! My students love these

Rated 5 out of 5

August 30, 2025

So fun! This was a great resource! It helped boost my students understanding of the subject.

Katherine's Creations

(TPT Seller)

64 reviews • Georgia

Grades taught: 8th

Fun Resource

Rated 5 out of 5

August 3, 2025

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

My students really enjoyed this! Loved that it was one page per concept! They really enjoyed watching the videos at the beginning of the mystery.

Ana D.

68 reviews • Wisconsin

Grades taught: 7th, 8th

Rated 5 out of 5

April 3, 2025

This was a great resource for me. It was a fun way to do some skills review.

James A.

86 reviews

Grades taught: 9th

Rated 5 out of 5

February 11, 2025

These mystery activities are super well-done and engaging! So creative!

Kerstin N.

91 reviews

Grades taught: 9th

Student populations: Autism

Questions & Answers

Standards

to see state-specific standards (only available in the US).

CCSS8.EE.C.7

Solve linear equations in one variable.

CCSSMP1

Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Mathematically proficient students start by explaining to themselves the meaning of a problem and looking for entry points to its solution. They analyze givens, constraints, relationships, and goals. They make conjectures about the form and meaning of the solution and plan a solution pathway rather than simply jumping into a solution attempt. They consider analogous problems, and try special cases and simpler forms of the original problem in order to gain insight into its solution. They monitor and evaluate their progress and change course if necessary. Older students might, depending on the context of the problem, transform algebraic expressions or change the viewing window on their graphing calculator to get the information they need. Mathematically proficient students can explain correspondences between equations, verbal descriptions, tables, and graphs or draw diagrams of important features and relationships, graph data, and search for regularity or trends. Younger students might rely on using concrete objects or pictures to help conceptualize and solve a problem. Mathematically proficient students check their answers to problems using a different method, and they continually ask themselves, "Does this make sense?" They can understand the approaches of others to solving complex problems and identify correspondences between different approaches.