FREE Critical Thinking Challenges

What quick tasks can I use on a regular basis to promote critical thinking? 

Logic puzzles help students develop solid critical thinking and problem-solving skills in the early grades and are a great way to engage students. In addition, they are fun and provide lots of opportunities for students to share what they are thinking and how they determined the solutions. Weight Logic puzzles do exactly that and they reinforce algebraic thinking at the same time.

To complete the weight logic puzzles, students use the sum of the symbols shown on the scale to determine the value of each symbol. For many students, this task seems simple. You guess and check the values until you find a combination that works. But that level of thinking is just the beginning. The real critical thinking comes in when students use strategies, other than guess and check, to determine the value of each fruit. 

Click here or on the image above to grab your freebie and learn more!

Want to know more? 

Head on over to The Routty Math Teacher website and read my latest post, "10 Problem Solving Resources Your Students Will Love" where I share ten of my favorite problem solving and critical thinking activities. I also share links to some great free resources. Read the post here or by clicking on the image below.

Enjoy!

FREE February Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Pack

Want to bring a little Valentine's Day fun to your classroom? 

Developing solid critical thinking and problem solving skills in the early grades is essential to support higher-level mathematics in the later ones.

This February-themed sampler pack includes 4 problem solving and critical thinking tasks that represent tasks from my Solve-It! series: traditional problem solving scenario, number clue puzzle, weight logic, and logic puzzle. In addition, a solution guide is included for your convenience.

 

Click here or on the image above to grab a free copy of my “Solve It! February Sampler” pack. 

Want to know more? 

Head on over to The Routty Math Teacher website (or click the image below) to read about how to celebrate the season with a week of Valentine's Day Math Starters. Find it here!

Enjoy!

PARCC Math Review Grades 3-5

PARCC Prep Grades 3-5

By: Third Grade Triumph

Grades: 3-5

It's that time of year! Getting ready for the PARCC or any state assessment can be a challenge, especially for teachers. We may not have access to rigorous materials to help prepare our students to answer these types of questions. Exposure is key, allowing students to see the rigorous questions and allowing them to think through them really helps improve confidence and reduce testing anxiety. I have created a resource that can be used in grades 3-5. The questions are aligned to the Common Core and are rigorous, multi-step questions. You can use them as Do Nows, small group work, homework, assessments, etc...

4th Grade PARCC Prep Click Here! 

5th Grade PARCC Prep Click Here!

Third Grade PARCC Prep Click Here!

Musical Math Review Game - Instant Engagement

By: Third Grade Triumph
Grades 3-4

Are you looking for a fun way to engage your students in math review? Then look no further! This product allows students to review essential third grade addition and subtraction skills in an interactive and engaging way. They will have so much fun. The game requires minimal prep. This comes with a recording sheet or you can have your students record their answers on a whiteboard or communicator. Whatever works for you! This is perfect for 3rd graders, but can be used to enrich second graders or help struggling 4th graders. CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT. 

This is part of a growing bundle. I've already added multiplication, division, area, perimeter, and more are coming soon! Check it out! 

There is also a growing bundle with several different skills included. So far, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, rounding, telling time, and area and perimeter are available for download. More to come soon! 

FREE Valentine's Day Weight Logic Puzzles

Want to bring a little Valentine's Day fun to your classroom? 

Developing solid critical thinking and problem solving skills in the early grades is essential to support higher-level mathematics in the later ones. This pack provides three holiday-themed weight logic puzzles that are sure to engage your students’ strategic thinking and problem solving skills.

This holiday pack includes 3 sets of weight logic puzzles. Each set includes:
• a blackline master for student use
• a solution guide

To complete each puzzle, students use their strategic thinking skills to determine the value of each symbol based on the weight on each scale.

 

Click here or on the image above to grab a free copy of my “Valentine's Day Weight Logic” pack. 

Want to know more? 

Head on over to The Routty Math Teacher website and check out my Solve It! Friday page where you can find a new task, similar to the one above, each week. You can even get free access to my library of nearly 100 problems. Find it here!

Enjoy!

PARCC Math Review Grades 3-5

PARCC Prep Grades 3-5

By: Third Grade Triumph

Grades: 3-5

It's that time of year! Getting ready for the PARCC or any state assessment can be a challenge, especially for teachers. We may not have access to rigorous materials to help prepare our students to answer these types of questions. Exposure is key, allowing students to see the rigorous questions and allowing them to think through them really helps improve confidence and reduce testing anxiety. I have created a resource that can be used in grades 3-5. The questions are aligned to the Common Core and are rigorous, multi-step questions. You can use them as Do Nows, small group work, homework, assessments, etc...

4th Grade PARCC Prep Click Here! 

5th Grade PARCC Prep Click Here!

Third Grade PARCC Prep Click Here!

FREE Operation Situations Printable for Analyzing Math Word Problems

Want to teach your students to analyze word problems for meaning? 

The use of keywords focuses on looking at the words of math word problems in isolation and not in the context of the problem. Focusing on the word problem as a whole allows students to become better at solving math word problems.

Tina Cardone, author of “Nix the Tricks,” a guide to avoiding non-conceptually developmental short-cuts, suggests having students think about the words of the problem as a whole and focus on what is happening in the problem in context. Students can accomplish this by visualizing the situation and creating a mental picture of the actions that are taking place. Once they understand the actions, students can then connect them to symbols.

After students have had experience with a variety of problem situations, some patterns will begin to emerge as students begin to recognize recurring themes, such as joining, part-part-whole, separating, comparing, equal groups, sharing, and measuring-- the operation situations.

Click here or on the image above to grab a free copy of my “Analyze Word Problems with Operation Situations” chart. 

Want to know more? 

Head on over to The Routty Math Teacher website to read more about the dangers of keywords, the power of the operation situations, and strategies for how to help students visualize a word problem. Find it here!

Enjoy!

PARCC Prep Grades 3-5

PARCC Prep Grades 3-5

By: Third Grade Triumph

Grades: 3-5

It's that time of year! Getting ready for the PARCC or any state assessment can be a challenge, especially for teachers. We may not have access to rigorous materials to help prepare our students to answer these types of questions. Exposure is key, allowing students to see the rigorous questions and allowing them to think through them really helps improve confidence and reduce testing anxiety. I have created a resource that can be used in grades 3-5. The questions are aligned to the Common Core and are rigorous, multi-step questions. You can use them as Do Nows, small group work, homework, assessments, etc...

4th Grade PARCC Prep Click Here! 

5th Grade PARCC Prep Click Here!

Third Grade PARCC Prep Click Here!

FREE Holiday Math Logic

Want to bring a little holiday cheer to your classroom? 

Developing solid critical thinking and problem solving skills in the early grades is essential to support higher-level mathematics in the later ones. This pack provides three holiday-themed logic puzzles that are sure to engage your students’ strategic thinking and problem solving skills.

This fun holiday pack includes 3 sets of logic puzzles. Each set includes:
• a colorful copy that can be presented via projector or document camera
• a blackline master for student use
• a solution guide.

To complete each puzzle, students use their strategic thinking skills to determine the value of each symbol. The sum of the symbols in each row and column are shown on the outside of the table. Students use the clues to determine the value of each symbol.

 

Click here or on the image above to grab a free copy of my “Holiday Math Logic” pack. 

Want to know more? 

Head on over to The Routty Math Teacher website to read about how to celebrate the season with holiday math. Find it here!

Enjoy!