Description
Captivate your math class with 20 fun Halloween bell ringers. These October brain teasers sharpen kids’ problem-solving skills. The activities were created fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students, but older kids (and teachers!) will love the challenge.
Open the preview to take a closer look. The prompts make great bell ringers (AKA bellwork, question of the day QOTD, starters, do-now, daily class opener DCO, and entry ticket).
Solving these Halloween-themed problems requires a big bag of tricks. An anchor chart presents nine helpful math strategies. The answer key explains how to use the strategies to solve each problem.
The brain teasers are organized in four five-problem sets. In the first three sets, prompts focus on a specific strategy and scaffold from easier to more difficult. In the final set, students use mixed strategies.
Problems 1-5: Arrays
This set asks kids to solve problems regarding the number of squares
in 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, and 6x6 arrays, as well as the number of rectangles in a
3x3 array. As they move through the sequence, students:
- Solve an easier problem.
- Use/draw a picture.
- Work systematically.
- Look for patterns.
Problems 6-10: Organized Lists
This set begins with a warm-up, which shows how to create an organized list. Problems scaffold from easier to more complex organized lists, move to handshake situations, and culminate with a difficult problem that involves organized lists and logic.
Problems 11-15: Working Backward
The warm-up for this set shows kids how to use a flow chart to work backward. Moving from left to right, they plot the unknown, operations used along the way, and the final number given in the problem. Then they move from right to left using inverse operations to find the unknown.
In addition to working backward, students conceptualize half. They may be tempted to use - 1/2 but will soon learn to use ÷ 2 (or x 1/2). The final problem extends the strategy to parts of a group.
Problems 16-20: Mixed Strategies
In this set, students solve a variety of problems. They use tables to guess and check, draw pictures, and work systematically.
Enjoy teaching Halloween math!
Brenda Kovich
Halloween Math Brain Teasers: October Problem Solving Bell Ringers/Activities
Highlights
Description
Captivate your math class with 20 fun Halloween bell ringers. These October brain teasers sharpen kids’ problem-solving skills. The activities were created fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students, but older kids (and teachers!) will love the challenge.
Open the preview to take a closer look. The prompts make great bell ringers (AKA bellwork, question of the day QOTD, starters, do-now, daily class opener DCO, and entry ticket).
Solving these Halloween-themed problems requires a big bag of tricks. An anchor chart presents nine helpful math strategies. The answer key explains how to use the strategies to solve each problem.
The brain teasers are organized in four five-problem sets. In the first three sets, prompts focus on a specific strategy and scaffold from easier to more difficult. In the final set, students use mixed strategies.
Problems 1-5: Arrays
This set asks kids to solve problems regarding the number of squares
in 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, and 6x6 arrays, as well as the number of rectangles in a
3x3 array. As they move through the sequence, students:
- Solve an easier problem.
- Use/draw a picture.
- Work systematically.
- Look for patterns.
Problems 6-10: Organized Lists
This set begins with a warm-up, which shows how to create an organized list. Problems scaffold from easier to more complex organized lists, move to handshake situations, and culminate with a difficult problem that involves organized lists and logic.
Problems 11-15: Working Backward
The warm-up for this set shows kids how to use a flow chart to work backward. Moving from left to right, they plot the unknown, operations used along the way, and the final number given in the problem. Then they move from right to left using inverse operations to find the unknown.
In addition to working backward, students conceptualize half. They may be tempted to use - 1/2 but will soon learn to use ÷ 2 (or x 1/2). The final problem extends the strategy to parts of a group.
Problems 16-20: Mixed Strategies
In this set, students solve a variety of problems. They use tables to guess and check, draw pictures, and work systematically.
Enjoy teaching Halloween math!
Brenda Kovich
