15 Fun Factoring Activities for Algebra

X Puzzles Review Game

I love using X Puzzles to introduce factoring trinomials. These puzzles are also known as sum and product puzzles since the goal of the puzzle is to find the two numbers that have a given sum and product.

Factoring Trinomials Activity

In this Open Middle Style puzzle, students are challenged to use the digits 0-9 to fill in the squares. Each digit can be used only once.

Factoring Quadratics Question Stack Activity

Question stacks are one of my favorite self-checking activities. This particular activity can be used both to practice multiplying binomials and factoring quadratics.

ZERO Game to Introduce Factoring Quadratics

Created by Shaun Carter, the ZERO Game helps to motivate why it is important to be able to factor quadratics. I presented this as a “game day” after we had talked about vertex form of quadratics and standard form of quadratics and BEFORE we started factoring quadratics the next day. It was PERFECT!

Factoring Trinomials with GCFs Question Stack Activity

This self-checking factoring question stack activity is similar to the one shared above, but this one requires students to sometimes factor out the GCF of the expression before factoring.

Factoring Quadratics Practice Activity (When a = 1)

I used this factoring quadratics matching activity to help my students review factoring monic quadratics (when a = 1) before moving on to factoring non-monic quadratics.

Shared Factors – A Quadratics Puzzle

Can you fill in the missing blanks so that each side of the square shares a factor with each of its neighboring sides?

Quadratic Area Puzzles

Solving these quadratic area puzzles (inspired by Naoki Inaba) will require lots of factoring practice!

Factoring Polynomials Square Puzzle Activity

This factoring polynomials square puzzle shared by Public Schools of North Carolina in their Resources for Algebra Blackline Masters collection is a great way to give students lots of practice with factoring quadratics!

Factoring Quadratics Using the Box Method Foldable

Using the box method for factoring quadratics? Check out this foldable I created to remind students of the steps for factoring quadratics using the box method.

Looking for Patterns in Factoring Trinomials

I always have my Algebra 1 students look for patterns before we begin factoring polynomials. Here’s a printable page I give them to glue in their interactive notebooks as a reference.

Factoring Quadratics Graphic Organizers

I created these graphic organizers to remind students the steps for factoring quadratics. We filled these out and glued them in our algebra interactive notebooks.