Five Arrows Puzzle

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I’m excited about trying out this five arrows puzzle with my students when we start back to school next week! Can you rearrange the four arrows to form five arrows?

five arrows puzzle

As soon as I saw this puzzle in The Big Book of Brain Games by Ivan Moscovich, I knew I had to make a version for my classroom. This was one of two new puzzle books I added to my collection this summer.

Five Arrows Puzzle Hanging on Dry Erase Board.

I printed off the four arrows on colored paper, laminated them, and added ceramic disc magnets on the back of each piece.

MATH = LOVE RECOMMENDS…

drawing of laminator machine with text "laminating recommendations"

A laminator is a MUST-HAVE for me as a math teacher! I spent my first six years as a teacher at a school with a broken laminator, so I had to find a way to laminate things myself.

I’ve had several laminators over the years. I currently use a Scotch laminator at home and a Swingline laminator at school.

I highly recommend splurging a bit on the actual laminator and buying the cheapest laminating pouches you can find!

My dry erase board is magnetic, so students can easily move around the pieces as they try to solve the puzzle.

Big Book of Brain Games Book Cover.

Puzzle Solutions

I intentionally do not make answers to the printable puzzles and math activities I share on my blog available online because I strive to provide learning experiences for my students that are non-google-able. I would like other teachers to be able to use these puzzles in their classrooms as well without the solutions being easily found on the Internet.

However, I do recognize that us teachers are busy people and sometimes need to quickly reference an answer key to see if a student has solved a puzzle correctly or to see if they have interpreted the instructions properly.

If you are a teacher who is using these puzzles in your classroom, please send me an email at sarah@mathequalslove.net with information about what you teach and where you teach. I will be happy to forward an answer key to you.

Not a teacher? Go ahead and send me an email as well. Just let me know what you are using the puzzles for. I am continually in awe of how many people are using these puzzles with scouting groups, with senior adults battling dementia, as fun activities in their workplace, or as a birthday party escape room.

Sarah Carter teaches high school math in her hometown of Coweta, Oklahoma. She currently teaches AP Precalculus, AP Calculus AB, and Statistics. She is passionate about sharing creative and hands-on teaching ideas with math teachers around the world through her blog, Math = Love.

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29 Comments

  1. These are great! Do you have the solutions for the three of five and the five arrows?

      3. Sarah – I love this concept (Puzzle of the week)!! I was also browsing through all of your free puzzles, however wondering if you have solutions as well?

        Thanks

  4. I really love this idea. I think puzzles are fun and they are a great way to promote critical thinking, communication and collaboration in our math classes. Now I am all excited to scroll through your free resources. Thank you for sharing.

  5. Love this idea of puzzles in the classroom and would like to incorporate them this year in my classroom.

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