This 577 = 11111 Puzzle asks you to arrange the numbers 5, 7, and 7 to make a shape. Then, you are tasked to make an identical shape using the numbers 1, 1, 1, 1, and 1. This creative puzzle was created by Erich Friedman and shared in Puzzle Box, Volume 1. Have you noticed …
Puzzles Related to Math Content
The Parts of a Whole Puzzle gives students five shapes that must be arranged to form a triangle whose three sides are of equal length. In other words, form an equilateral triangle. I would have renamed this as the Equilateral Triangle Puzzle, but I have already shared a different equilateral triangle puzzle on my blog …
Here’s a third hidden equation puzzle from Erich Friedman. Circle one symbol in each column so that a true equation results reading from left to right. I love to use these hidden equation puzzles with dry erase pockets in my classroom. If you don’t have a classroom set of dry erase pockets, you could also …
While looking through a textbook, I ran across this fun set of measurement puzzlers. They strongly rely on a knowledge of metric prefixes and a love of puns. I think they could be a fun addition to a math or science class! Quite a few people joined in the fun when I shared a photo …
In this Make Six Puzzle, you are given eight equations. You must insert mathematical symbols (no digits) to make each equation equal six. If you are wondering what mathematical symbols you are allowed to use, that is up to you!
I am really liking these quadratic area puzzles from Chritsopher (Bow Tie Teacher on twitter) that are posted for free on TES. They are inspired by Naoki Inaba‘s Area Maze puzzles with a quadratic spin on things. For next year, I think I would like to do some sort of activity at the beginning of …
It’s been almost two years since I last shared a hidden equation puzzle with you. These hidden equation puzzles are the product of Erich Friedman, a math professor and prolific puzzle creator. You can read more about Hidden Equation Puzzle 1 here. I was introduced to these hidden equation puzzles through Puzzle Box, Volume 2. …
I am really excited about this shape grid puzzle from Erich Friedman. The goal of the puzzle is to divide the grid into geometric shapes. Any lines you draw must follow either the grid lines or the diagonals of the grid squares. Each shape that you draw must contain exactly one shape icon inside. This …
Today I want to highlight a collection of Balancing Act Puzzles from Heather Sparks. Heather is a bit of a legend in the world of Oklahoma math teaching. She was the 2009 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year. If you teach middle school math, her website is worth a browse. I am positive you will find …
I’ve been a fan of this factoring puzzle for factoring quadratic trinomials since I worked through it at a Common Core workshop I attended (OGAP) in the summer of 2013. Over the last couple of days, I have been going back through these resources that I originally blogged about and giving each resource its own …
I first ran across Erich Friedman’s Plus Times Puzzles back in 2019. I have featured several of Erich’s puzzles on my blog before including Arrows Puzzle, Ducks and Snakes Puzzle, Equation Rotation Puzzle, Connect the Dots, and Hidden Equation. I was super excited when I discovered that he has an entire page of puzzles online …
This equation puzzle has been sitting in folder of puzzles to print/share since 2018. I’ve decided to make “FINISH” my 2021 word of the year. It may still be 2020, but I’m determined to get a jumpstart on finishing off this list of things I’ve meant to blog about for ages. In this equation puzzle, …
I shared this shared factors puzzle on twitter recently, but I thought I should share it on my blog as well. Shared Factors Puzzle Each side of the square shares a factor with each of its neighboring sides. Determine the missing values that make this statement true. This would be a great task for including …
This Equation Rotation Puzzle post has been in the works for quite a long time. I ran across this puzzle several years ago in Puzzle Box Volume 2, one of three amazing volumes of puzzles put together by the Grabarchuk family. I can’t say enough good things about these books. If you take a look …
I want to share with you a Pair Ups Puzzle today. I recently ran across an excellent book of puzzles called Test Your Math IQ by Steve Ryan. It’s out of print, but I was able to borrow it through the Internet Archive’s free online library which is my favorite way to find and look …
I’m excited to share the Only Takes and Adds Puzzle with you today. I did a lot of thinking this summer about how I wanted to incorporate puzzles into my classroom this year. Over the last few years, puzzles are one of the things I’ve become known for sharing on my blog. Hello, I have an …
Today I’m sharing a new puzzle with you called the 8 sticks puzzle. Yesterday, I bemoaned the loss of my classroom puzzle corner. I’ve been trying to come up with some ways to keep incorporating puzzles in my classroom in a pandemic-friendly manner. My favorite puzzles are the ones with pieces that students can manipulate. …
The Square in Square Puzzle is a creation of the brilliant Peter Grabarchuk. It is one of my weekly magnetic puzzles that never made it up on the blog this school year. Imagine that… You are given sixteen rectangles. Among these rectangles, only two can be placed next to one another to form a perfect …
I think these count the quadrilaterals tasks from 100 Geometric Games by Pierre Berloquin could spark some great classroom conversation. I was able to view them on Amazon by choosing the “Look Inside” feature. How many quadrilaterals are in each diagram?
Master the art of the squaring off puzzle! Rotate and arrange given rectangular pieces to create a perfect square, testing your problem-solving skills. Thanksgiving Break is here, and I am oh so grateful for these few days off. This year has felt like one long learning curve as I figure out what life looks like …
Today I’m excited to share the 20 x 9 Challenge with you and your students. Last summer, I picked up a copy of Pierre Berloquin’s 100 Numerical Games at Goodwill for a couple of dollars. It’s turned out to be a good investment because it has served as inspiration for several fun classroom challenges. Want to …
In my last post, I shared the Square Pi Puzzle and mentioned that I was updating some older puzzles that have been long-time favorites of my students. Today, I want to share another updated puzzle, the 1-4-5 Square Challenge. I originally shared this puzzle on my blog in May 2015 which seems like an eternity …
The last time I taught Algebra 1, I used Step Puzzles by Naoki Inaba to introduce the idea of arithmetic sequences. I tweeted about it, but in the craziness of packing up my classroom and house to move last summer they never made it up on my blog. I was first introduced to the amazing …
I’m making the most of the $2 I spent on this recent Goodwill find. The Giant Book of Hard-to-Solve Mind Puzzles is out-of-print which makes used copies from Amazon VERY expensive. If you happen upon a copy of this book at a thrift store or used book shop, it’s definitely worth picking up a copy! …
Genius Blocks are my latest classroom creation. They are perfect for a classroom puzzle table or a creative way to practice mental math with integer operations. Last summer, I ran across several craft ideas on twitter involving wooden blocks. So I promptly went on Amazon and bought a bag of 100 one inch wooden cubes. …