SamizdatMath

Here's another mathematics investigation straight out of the SamizdatMath laboratory. Yes, the same place which brought you " How to Hack Your Burrito," " What's the Best Way to Fit a 15' Fishing Pole in a 10' Box?" AND "WTF is Survivor Bias and Why Should I Care About It?" now brings you a complete investigation into the age old problem "what's the fastest way to cook 3 steaks in a pan that only holds 2 at a time?" This is a problem that has been circulating around, and it has a fun solution,

Nadia Geddit wanted to get into her building, but she forgot the code to the lock. However, she did remember some clues about the code. These are 5 clues about the code: 1) The sum of the fifth digit and the third digit is 14. 2) The fourth digit is one more than the second digit. 3) The first digit is one less than twice the second digit. 4) The sum of the second and third digit is 10. 5) The sum of all five digits is 30. What 5 digits must Nadia press to make the lock open? How wo

Winning Touch is a partner activity where students use tiles to fill in the products on a multiplication board. Each student starts with 4 tiles, and then a "shared" tile is chosen to be placed on the board to begin the game. Each student takes turns finding a combination of factors that will allow a tile to be placed on the board (for example, if the student has a tile marked "18", s/he can play it on 9 and 2, 2 and 9, 3 and 6, or 6 and 3. However, the tile must touch another tile that is alrea

Yes, you saw it with rats, turkeys and reindeers; fact it, you're eventually going to buy one of these, so why not snowmen and snowballs? NO JOKES PLEASE! Okay, the concept is simple: take the snowballs numbered from 1 - 6 and arrange them on the three sides so that each side adds up to 9. Rearrange them and they add up to 10. Do it again, and they add up to 11. Then do it one more time and they add up to 12. Record your results and see for the patterns that emerge in the corner numbers. Want

You've got the links, here are 75 different pattern puzzles for you to print out in full color, complete with answers. Set them up as math centers by putting the solutions on the back of the problem, use them as "problem of the day" or send them home with a bag of links for parents to solve with their kids. This set has 3 different types of pattern problems: • Problems where the student "continues" the pattern shown on the card; that is, the pattern shows the first 5 - 8 links that establishes

These are among my favorite "hands on" puzzles to have my kids learn addition facts, or do remediation for those who are having problems "catching on." There are 10 different "bean puzzles" which can be cut out and glued to a paper plate. Number them 1 - 10 so kids can keep track of which ones they've completed (1 is the easiest, 10 is the most tricky.) Students complete the puzzle by taking dried kidney beans (or bean shaped counters) and distributing them in each pan so that two pans add up to

10 Christmas Pattern Puzzles, from the very easy to the very hard. Students cut out "stamps" at the bottom of the page and place them in the missing space. Watch out: there are more stamps than there are places to put them. And, at a fellow TpT member's suggestion, includes answer key!

This is a set of 10 different pattern puzzles with a Thanksgiving theme. Print out on card stock and cut out the answer pieces on the bottom, attach to the puzzles and let the kids go at it. Graded from very easy (puzzles 1 & 2) to very tricky (8 - 10). Great for math centers, individual or paired work, or just to keep yourself sane from eating too much candy corn.

Patterns are an essential part of the elementary math curriculum; these charming pattern puzzles are fun for kids: print on card stock, cut out the pieces and have the kids place them in the missing slots.