In The Math Behind the Fun and Games ~ Lessons for Masterminds Who Love Wordle, the focus was on introducing students to combinatorics, the branch of math that is behind many popular daily puzzles. Here I’ll share three different ways to present daily math puzzles so that younger students can join in and older students … Read more
The nine weeks or so between spring break and the end of the year can sail by really fast. A legacy project is one way to inspire students in the final months of school. It can take many forms and be presented at any grade level. Maybe these ideas will inspire you in the last … Read more
You may have noticed a cultural phenomenon taking place – a guessing game craze. Wordle is everywhere, sparking interest in similar games such as Mastermind, Oodle, and Mathler. If you and your students enjoy any of these games, this would be a great time to introduce them to a branch of mathematics called combinatorics and … Read more
As a society, we are obsessed with ranking. Watch the news, scan social media, or recommend a book or movie to a friend, and – there it is- a list of the top ten in any category, a poll to determine the “GOAT” in any given sport, or a list of celebrities by net worth. … Read more
If you are new to this site, WELCOME! You can find additional puzzle tutorials HERE and many more puzzles HERE. You also might like to check out this 4-minute video tour designed to help you find resources more quickly. Find additional hex-doku puzzles HERE. Here is a puzzle your students might enjoy when the weather … Read more
In a previous post, I’ve shared about the “science of happiness,” and with the Thanksgiving holidays approaching in the U.S., it’s a great time to inspire kids to engage in creating their own scientific experiments related to having a gratitude attitude. SHARING THE SCIENCE Below are a few videos about gratitude experiments and studies done … Read more
Here are three brain breaks I’ve used when I sensed the need for a little stress reduction. They help kids relax and usually induce some laughter, always a good thing in the classroom. QUESTION CONVO In this game, student pairs compete to keep a conversation going the longest. The catch is that the conversation must … Read more
A little over a decade ago, an advertising team working for Volkswagon was hired to increase sales of eco-friendly automobiles. Their theory was that if people could be shown that the eco-friendly cars were just as much fun to drive as any other car, it would encourage them to test drive and purchase them. They … Read more
The closer we get to the holidays, the higher the noise level in the classroom it seems! Some days everyone in the room is relieved to have some quiet moments. Here are some ways to facilitate dialogues and discussions with added benefits for you, the teacher: (1) everyone is engaged 100% of the time; (2) … Read more
In Part 1 of this topic, I discussed five ways puzzles can be incorporated into lessons and activities. In this post, I’d like to share some creative ways to reimagine puzzles or invent your own! I hope this will encourage you and your students to do some creative puzzling! PAIRED PUZZLES A paired puzzle is … Read more
