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30 Thought-Provoking Math Puzzles for Middle Schoolers

Critical thinking, trial and error, and pure logic abound.

Tired of your tried-and-true math routine? Chances are if you’re feeling the itch to incorporate new activities into your math time, your students are as well. Mixing it up in math class can bring fresh perspectives to stale concepts or standards, and your students will enjoy stretching their brains in different ways with these middle school math puzzles. Critical thinking, trial and error, and pure logic abound in these 30 though-provoking puzzles. Get ready to reignite your middle schoolers’ excitement for math!

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Sudoku is way more than just an activity to pass the time on long-haul flights. This math puzzle is actually a fantastic problem-solving activity for middle schoolers. Kick-starting your typical math class with a Sudoku puzzle will have your students thinking critically, practicing trial and error, and looking at math in a totally different way. Plus, you can differentiate by providing Easy, Medium, and Difficult puzzles.

Learn more: Sodoku Puzzles To Print

2. 5 Pirates Puzzle

Ahoy and shiver me timbers! This logic puzzle is perfect for a small-group activity to get your middle schoolers working together to solve the conundrum of how pirates plan to share treasure among themselves. Multiple scenarios will play out in this puzzle, so scaffolding with problem-solving strategies is a must.

Learn more:  5 Pirates Puzzles/Math Is Fun

3. Fives Challenge Puzzle

This puzzle is perfect for reviewing addition, multiplication, division, and subtraction and would be a great activity to do when gearing up to teach order of operations. Students could work in pairs or small groups to riddle out each target number.

Learn more:  Fives Challenge Puzzle/Math = Love

4. Beehive Puzzle

Perfect for a station during math rotation or for a rainy-day recess activity, this logic puzzle involves creating a beehive shape without having any squares of the same color touching each other. Students can practice trial and error as well as problem-solving.

Learn more:  Beehive Puzzle/Math = Love

5. Guess My Number

Guess My Number is just as much a riddle as it is a math puzzle. Students use their number sense to determine the number in question. As an extension activity, students can come up with their own clues and trade them with a classmate to solve.

Learn more:  Guess My Number/Education.com

6. Math Riddles

Perfect for a morning warmup, these middle school math puzzles activate all kinds of math knowledge. You can poll the class and have them show their work before clicking to reveal the correct answer. This site even has more challenging puzzles if your middle schoolers fly through the easier ones.

Learn more:  Math Riddles/Get Riddles

My seventh graders loved playing this puzzle as an early-finisher activity. Though the idea is simple (move the tiles until two of the same numbers touch), it’s actually great for recognizing exponents and also for thinking strategically.

Learn more:  2048/Prodigy

8. Magic Squares

Magic Squares have been around for thousands of years, and they come in all shapes and sizes. The 3×3 grid is a great size to introduce to your students and then work up to larger and more complex grids. You can even bring this puzzle off the paper and have your students write the grid out in sidewalk chalk, or write the numbers on water bottle caps to make a fun tactile activity.

Learn more:  Magic Squares/Prodigy

9. Impossible Domino Bridge

Using dominoes to build a seemingly impossible bridge is a perfect activity for the first day or week of a new school year. Your students can work together in small groups and get to know one another as they attempt to construct the bridge that looks like it could turn into a game of Jenga at any moment.

Learn more:  Impossible Domino Bridge/Math = Love

10. Math Picture Puzzles

Your students communicate through emojis anyway, so why not get math involved? This self-checking site allows them to work independently (on the honor system) and also choose between three levels of difficulty. Students can take this idea to the next level, create their own emojis, and arrange them in number sentences for their classmates to solve.

Learn more: Picture Puzzles/MathEasily.com

11. What Is the Weight?

Sometimes you just need a quick resource to get your students working on solving a math puzzle. This puzzle comes from an app, so you can have it downloaded on your students’ iPads or tablets. Middle schoolers will focus on determining the weights of different animals, which is good practice for estimating and working with customary/metric units of measurement.

Learn more: Brain Teasers/Mental Up

12. Colorku

Math doesn’t always have to be just about numbers. This board game uses colors and patterns to focus on analyzing sequences, and would be great to have on hand for those rainy-day recesses as well as for inclusion in a math station. Further, Colorku can be used as a calm-down tool or even a fidget tool.

Buy it: Colorku at Amazon

13. Rubik’s Cube

Rubik’s Cubes made a major comeback in popularity when I taught fifth grade. My students would happily sit together at recess to race each other to see who could solve the cube faster. Though entertaining, Rubik’s Cubes are also suited to teach students about growth mindset, spacial awareness, and 3D space.

Buy it: Rubik’s Cube at Amazon

14. SafeCracker

Though this puzzle looks like something out of an Indiana Jones quest, it’s actually a tactilely engaging tool that will delight even your most resistant math learners. The goal is to align the wheel into columns where the sum adds up to 40. You might need to get more than one of these middle school math puzzles for your classroom.

Buy it: SafeCracker at Amazon

15. “T” Brain Teaser Puzzle

In addition to sparking structural design creativity, this boxed wooden puzzle challenges middle schoolers to engage in trial and error as they work at fitting 50+ pieces into a cube. Much of math is learning how to persevere through tricky problems or procedures, and this puzzle definitely fosters that.

Buy it: T Brain Teaser at Amazon

16. Multistep Equation Puzzle

Solve-and-sort puzzles add flair to repeatedly solving different variations of a math problem for practice. In this free puzzle, students will need to not only solve the equations with variables on both sides, they will also need to sort the problem based on if their solution is positive or negative in order to uncover the secret word.

Get it: Solve-and-Sort Puzzle/Teachers Pay Teachers

In this variation of a classic Sudoku puzzle, students practice critical thinking and exercise their knowledge of how the four math operations work. The best thing about these types of puzzles is that the differentiation potential is endless. Students can solve smaller puzzles with addition, or use only prime numbers in a more complex multiplication problem.

Learn more: Yohaku

18. Jigmaze

One of the Standards for Mathematical Practices is perseverance, and all teachers know that this is a tough one to instill in students, even more so if students are struggling in foundational skills. This type of puzzle can be used to strengthen perseverance as students physically arrange and rearrange pieces of a broken maze.

Learn more: Jigmaze/Math = Love

19. Flexagons

Flexagons, octaflexagons, and dodecaflexagons (say that one 10 times fast!) are a mathematical take on traditional origami. Through constructing these paper creations, your students will get exposure to geometrical terms such as faces ,  equilateral triangles , and all manner of types of 3D shapes.

Get it: Flexagons/Medium

20. Möbius Strip

Though the high-level mathematical equation may be well above your students’ heads (and mine too, if I’m being honest), the STEAM-centered concept of a Möbius strip can be a fun one to explore and create (no need to go into cosines and conversational belts). Middle school math puzzles for the win!

Get it for free: Make a Möbius/STEAMsational

In this complex-looking puzzle, the goal is for the sum of each vertical or horizontal line to match the number given at the beginning of the row or column. This site comes with a great explanation on exactly what that means and how to achieve it. A Kakuro puzzle would be a great “learn as you go” activity for students where they really must pay close attention to the instructions to be able to understand the goal.

Learn more: Kakuro/Braingle

22. Number Searches

This school district’s site has tons of grade-specific number puzzles that would be perfect for when you need to be out of the classroom and have a substitute teacher. They are ready to be printed and contain easy explanations for your students. Check out the number searches, patterns, and 3D riddles.

Learn more: Number Searches/Cranbury School District

23. Two Truths and One Lie

The tried-and-true icebreaker used at many a staff meeting and the first week of school, Two Truths and One Lie can also be used to review and practice tons of mathematical concepts. These middle school math puzzles cover concepts such as negative numbers, fractions, and a ton more.

Buy it: Two Truths & One Lie Math Edition at Amazon

24. Adding Integers Puzzle

The objective of this cuttable resource is for students to solve the integer problem and match up expressions that end up having the same sum. The multiple size options are great for differentiation or to make this independent activity into a small-group collaborative activity.

Buy it: Adding Integers at Teachers Pay Teachers

25. Perfect Square Roots

For upper middle school students, this square-roots puzzle helps with the recognition of perfect square roots. Rather than simply memorizing the perfect square roots, students work to identify and spell out the specific square root and ensure that it fits within the crossword. In this way, the puzzle is self-checking as well.

Buy it: Square Roots Crossword at Teachers Pay Teachers

26. Factor Tree Challenge

Factor trees are an effective way to visually show students the factors of numbers. Trees allow a chain of multiple factors, so you can start with a large number and end up with “branches” that show all of the factors. Once your middle schoolers are familiar with this concept, have them explore this self-checking challenge (and many others as well) that will test their knowledge of abstract factors.

Learn more: Prime Challenges/Transum

27. Ludicross

Another take on Sudoku, Ludicross is interactive in that students can drag and drop the number into position with the goal of making the sum of the numbers in both diagonals the same. Like several of the other puzzles mentioned in this list, students can take this number puzzle to the next level by creating their own and swapping with a classmate to solve.

Learn more: Ludicross/Transum

28. Interactive Mobiles

These colorfully shaped mobiles are a unique way for students to make pattern associations. Because these puzzles are self-paced, students can begin with a simple puzzle and work their way up to complex mobiles with three or more shapes.

Try it: Mobiles/SolveMe Puzzles

29. Deleting Sheep

This logic puzzle is a doozy! The objective is to remove only two numbers in each row with the result being that each horizontal and vertical line equals 30. Trial and error and problem-solving skills abound in this puzzle, and it will keep your middle schoolers engaged for quite some time.

Get it: Deleting Sheep/Dover Publications

30. Pips Puzzle

Have any spare decks of cards lying around your classroom? This inexpensive item provides a different take on a Magic Square. Students can work in small groups, and maybe you can ignite a little class competition to see which groups can complete the challenge the fastest.

Buy it: Pips Puzzle/Math = Love

Looking for more engaging math resources? Try these Magical Math Puzzles and Number Tricks To Wow Your Students .

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Middle School Math Content

Below you can link to hundreds of middle school-level math worksheets throughout our website.

These worksheets and printable activities will help students to learn about the absolute value of numbers. Includes identifying values, opposite numbers, ordering, and comparing.

Work with basic algebraic expressions, equations, and inequalities. Learn about dependent and independent variables, calculate slope, and more.

This collection contains math resources on supplementary and complementary angles.

Learn about acute, obtuse, and right angles. Use a protractor to measure angles.

Given the radius or diameter, find the areas of the circles.

With these task cards and worksheets, your pupils can practice calculating the areas of parallelogram shapes.

These printables will help your middle school students practice calculating the areas of trapezoids. This page contains printable worksheets and task cards.

Use the formula A=.5bh to calculate the area of the triangles.

Create 5-digit summaries with Q1, median, and Q3, minimum, and maximum. Then, use the 5-digit summaries to create box-and-whisker plots.

Practice dividing pairs of fractions and mixed numbers.

This is the most basic level of inequality worksheet. It includes a variable and a number separated by a "greater than" or "less than" sign. (example: a > 120)

This page contains a collection of printables with one-step inequalities. (example: y + 7 > 15)

Add, subtract, multiply, and divide positive and negative integers.

Graph linear equations, find y-intercepts, solve systems of linear equations, and more.

Practice multiplying fractions and mixed numbers with these printables.

Find the lengths of the sides of the right triangles using the Pythagorean theorem formula.

Calculate slopes using ordered pairs, graphs, and x/y tables.

Find the surface areas of the solid, three-dimensional shapes.

Calculate unit rates and ratios. Solve unit rate word problems involving pricing, acceleration, and linear measurement.

Calculate the volumes of cylinders, cones, spheres, and other shapes with these printables.

This page links to our full math index. You'll find thousands elementary and middle school worksheets.

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20 Problem-Solving Activities for Middle School Students

• Middle School Education

Introduction:

As students progress through middle school, it becomes increasingly important to develop their problem-solving skills. By engaging in problem-solving activities, students can enhance their critical thinking abilities, foster creativity, and become better prepared for the challenges they may face both in and out of the classroom. Here are 20 problem-solving activities that are perfect for middle school students.

1. Brainstorming Sessions: Encourage students to share their ideas on a particular topic or issue, fostering a collaborative environment that promotes creative problem solving.

2. Riddles: Challenge students with riddles that require critical thinking and lateral thinking skills to determine the answers.

3. Sudoku: Introduce sudoku puzzles as a fun and challenging math-based activity.

4. Chess Club: Encourage students to participate in chess clubs or tournaments to practice strategic thinking.

5. Escape Rooms: Plan an age-appropriate escape room activity to develop teamwork and problem-solving skills among the students.

6. Role-Playing Exercises: Use role-playing scenarios to allow students to think critically about real-life situations and practice problem-solving strategies.

7. Science Experiments: Design science experiments that require students to troubleshoot problems and test possible solutions.

8. Word Problems: Incorporate word problems in math lessons, encouraging students to use logic and math skills to solve them.

9. Puzzle Stations: Set up different puzzle stations around the classroom where students can work on spatial reasoning, logic puzzles, and other brain teasers during free time.

10. Debates: Organize debates on controversial topics, allowing students to present and argue their views while developing their critical thinking and persuasion skills.

11. Engineering Challenges: Provide engineering-based challenges such as bridge building or packaging design activities that require teamwork and creative problem solving.

12. Storytelling Workshops: Host a storytelling workshop where students collaborate to create stories from a given prompt and gradually face more complex narrative challenges.

13. Coding Clubs: Support students in learning coding basics and encourage them to develop problem-solving skills through coding projects.

14. Treasure Hunts: Create treasure hunts with clues that require problem solving, reasoning, and collaboration among the students.

15. Cooperative Games: Facilitate games that promote cooperation and communication, such as “human knot” or “cross the lava.”

16. Geocaching: Introduce geocaching as a fun activity where students use GPS devices to locate hidden objects and work as a team to solve puzzle-like tasks.

17. Exploratory Research Projects: Assign open-ended research projects that require students to investigate topics of interest and solve problems or answer questions through their research efforts.

18. Mock Trials: Set up mock trials in which students participate as lawyers, witnesses, or jury members, allowing them to analyze cases and think through legal problem-solving strategies.

19. Creative Writing Prompts: Share creative writing prompts requiring students to think critically about characters’ actions and decisions within fictional scenarios.

20. Invention Convention: Host an invention convention where students present their unique solutions to everyday problems, fostering creativity and innovative thinking.

Conclusion:

Problem-solving activities are essential for middle school students as they help in cultivating valuable life skills necessary to tackle real-world challenges. These 20 activities provide diverse and engaging opportunities for students to develop key problem-solving skills while fostering creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration. Teachers and educators can easily adapt these activities to suit the individual needs of their middle school classrooms.

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Problem-solving skills are necessary in all areas of life, and classroom problem solving activities can be a great way to get students prepped and ready to solve real problems in real life scenarios. Whether in school, work or in their social relationships, the ability to critically analyze a problem, map out all its elements and then prepare a workable solution is one of the most valuable skills one can acquire in life.

Educating your students about problem solving skills from an early age in school can be facilitated through classroom problem solving activities. Such endeavors encourage cognitive as well as social development, and can equip students with the tools they’ll need to address and solve problems throughout the rest of their lives. Here are five classroom problem solving activities your students are sure to benefit from as well as enjoy doing:

1. Brainstorm bonanza

Having your students create lists related to whatever you are currently studying can be a great way to help them to enrich their understanding of a topic while learning to problem-solve. For example, if you are studying a historical, current or fictional event that did not turn out favorably, have your students brainstorm ways that the protagonist or participants could have created a different, more positive outcome. They can brainstorm on paper individually or on a chalkboard or white board in front of the class.

2. Problem-solving as a group

Have your students create and decorate a medium-sized box with a slot in the top. Label the box “The Problem-Solving Box.” Invite students to anonymously write down and submit any problem or issue they might be having at school or at home, ones that they can’t seem to figure out on their own. Once or twice a week, have a student draw one of the items from the box and read it aloud. Then have the class as a group figure out the ideal way the student can address the issue and hopefully solve it.

3. Clue me in

This fun detective game encourages problem-solving, critical thinking and cognitive development. Collect a number of items that are associated with a specific profession, social trend, place, public figure, historical event, animal, etc. Assemble actual items (or pictures of items) that are commonly associated with the target answer. Place them all in a bag (five-10 clues should be sufficient.) Then have a student reach into the bag and one by one pull out clues. Choose a minimum number of clues they must draw out before making their first guess (two- three). After this, the student must venture a guess after each clue pulled until they guess correctly. See how quickly the student is able to solve the riddle.

4. Survivor scenarios

Create a pretend scenario for students that requires them to think creatively to make it through. An example might be getting stranded on an island, knowing that help will not arrive for three days. The group has a limited amount of food and water and must create shelter from items around the island. Encourage working together as a group and hearing out every child that has an idea about how to make it through the three days as safely and comfortably as possible.

5. Moral dilemma

Create a number of possible moral dilemmas your students might encounter in life, write them down, and place each item folded up in a bowl or bag. Some of the items might include things like, “I saw a good friend of mine shoplifting. What should I do?” or “The cashier gave me an extra $1.50 in change after I bought candy at the store. What should I do?” Have each student draw an item from the bag one by one, read it aloud, then tell the class their answer on the spot as to how they would handle the situation.

Classroom problem solving activities need not be dull and routine. Ideally, the problem solving activities you give your students will engage their senses and be genuinely fun to do. The activities and lessons learned will leave an impression on each child, increasing the likelihood that they will take the lesson forward into their everyday lives.

You may also like to read

• Classroom Activities for Introverted Students
• Activities for Teaching Tolerance in the Classroom
• 5 Problem-Solving Activities for Elementary Classrooms
• 10 Ways to Motivate Students Outside the Classroom
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• How to Engage Gifted and Talented Students in the Classroom

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Home » Blog » Lesson Plans » Middle School Size of the Problem Worksheet

Middle School Size of the Problem Worksheet

As school counselors, one of our key responsibilities is equipping students with essential life skills. Problem-solving is a crucial skill that empowers individuals to overcome challenges and find effective solutions. However, before students can tackle a problem, they need to understand the size of the problem at hand.

In this blog post, we will explore strategies for teaching middle school students to determine the size of the problem. By helping them assess whether a problem is big or small, we enable them to approach problem-solving with clarity and confidence. We will provide a no-prep lesson plan and engaging activities that can be easily integrated into your counseling sessions. Let’s embark on this journey to empower our students to become skilled problem solvers!

Understanding the Size of the Problem

Before delving into problem-solving strategies, it’s important for students to recognize that not all problems are created equal. By teaching them to assess the size of the problem, we help them develop a more nuanced perspective on challenges. This skill allows them to determine the appropriate level of attention, effort, and resources to allocate.

• Encourage students to ask themselves questions such as, “How much does this problem affect me or others?” and “How significant are the consequences of this problem?”
• Introduce the concept of “small problems” that can be handled independently and “big problems” that may require adult assistance or collaborative problem-solving.
• Help students recognize the emotional toll different problems can have.
• Encourage them to consider their emotional reactions and the impact on well-being.

Size of the Problem Activity

To effectively teach students about the size of the problem, we have created a comprehensive lesson plan that incorporates hands-on activities and interactive discussions. This no-prep lesson plan can be adapted to suit your counseling sessions and the unique needs of your students.

Lesson Plan: Determining the Size of the Problem

Objective: To help middle school students identify whether a problem is big or small and understand the appropriate response for each.

• Whiteboard or flipchart
• Sticky notes
• “Is this a Big Problem?” Activity from Everyday Speech (downloadable PDF)

Introduction

• Begin by engaging students in a discussion about problem-solving and its importance.
• Explain the concept of determining the size of the problem and finding appropriate solutions.

Small vs. Big Problems

• Create a two-column chart labeled “Small Problems” and “Big Problems.”
• Brainstorm with students and list examples under each category, encouraging them to provide real-life scenarios they have encountered.

Worksheet Activity

• Distribute the “Is this a Big Problem?” worksheet to students.
• Instruct them to think about the scenarios and categorize them as small or big problems.
• Consider asking students to provide brief justifications for their choices.

Group Discussion

• Facilitate a group discussion to share the students’ categorizations and justifications.
• Encourage students to respect different perspectives and challenge their thinking.

Reflection and Closure

• Conclude the lesson by encouraging students to reflect on what they have learned about determining the size of the problem.
• Discuss how this can enhance their problem-solving skills in various aspects of their lives.

Helping Middle Schoolers Determine Size of the Problem

Teaching middle school students to determine the size of the problem is a fundamental step towards developing effective problem-solving skills. By enabling them to differentiate between small and big problems, we empower students to approach challenges with a more strategic mindset. This skill equips them with the ability to allocate appropriate resources, seek assistance when needed, and make informed decisions.

By utilizing the provided lesson plan and engaging activities, you can guide your students through the process of understanding the size of the problem. Remember, fostering problem-solving skills requires ongoing reinforcement and application. Encourage your students to practice assessing the size of problems in their daily lives, reinforcing their ability to adapt and tackle challenges.

With these essential problem-solving skills, our students will grow into resilient individuals who confidently navigate the complexities of life. Let’s equip them with the tools they need to thrive!

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Career Readiness | Middle School | Critical Thinking

Problem Solving Lesson Plans Your Middle School Students Will Love

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July 11th, 2022 | 5 min. read

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Need resources for teaching problem solving in your middle school career readiness classes?

As a career readiness curriculum developer, middle school teachers often ask if we have resources to help teach problem solving.

While our digital curriculum includes content on critical thinking, decision making, and other 21st Century skills, our solution may not be the best fit for everyone.

Our Middle School Digital Literacy & Career Exploration curriculum is designed to teach dozens of skills such as professionalism, communication, digital literacy, and more.

However, some teachers are only looking for supplemental problem solving lessons and activities to add to their existing curriculum.

To help you teach these skills, we've found four popular providers of problem solving lessons and activities for middle school:

• TeacherVision
• Ed Creative

All of these resources have both pros and cons, so looking at each one individually is key when planning your problem solving lessons!

1. TeacherVision's Problem Solving Lesson

TeacherVision is a digital resource that offers free online lesson plans, including a problem solving lesson.

This problem solving lesson has two key objectives:

• Students will be introduced to a problem-solving procedure
• Students will participate in a structured practice of resolving conflict

Along with the lesson objectives, you'll find the materials list and the procedure for completing the lesson.

That makes TeacherVision a robust resource with an easy-to-follow lesson plan for introducing students to problem solving .

On the downside, the lesson is listed as appropriate for students between first and eighth grade.

That means you may want to bulk it up a bit in order to really be relevant and engaging to your middle school students .

2. Ed Creative's Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Lesson Plans

Ed Creative is a subdivision of Education.com that collects lesson plans from other online resources.

That makes Ed Creative one of the best lesson plan databases online.

It includes a variety of lesson plans and activities to teach creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking skills.

Many of these lessons are intended for children up to eighth grade. That means you'll likely find resources that fit perfectly in your middle school classes.

In addition, some lessons overlap with other subjects you may need to teach in your career readiness classes . For example, one resource is entitled Thinking Critically About Advertising and would tie in well with lessons on media literacy .

The lesson encourages students to consider behind-the-scenes angles when presented with ads, encouraging them to think critically and logically about why the ad is what it is.

Still, these resources are a little disorganized which means it will take you time to review each option and decide if it's a good fit.

3. BrainPOP's Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Activities

BrainPOP is an educational resource provider with many teaching resources for every grade level.

In this case, their critical thinking and problem solving lesson plan is intended for any sixth to 12th grade student.

In this lesson, students will:

• Apply critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making skills to online gameplay and writing tasks
• Analyze situations from multiple perspectives and viewpoints
• Distinguish between facts, opinions, and solutions
• Demonstrate 21st Century skills such as global awareness, information literacy, communication, and collaboration

BrainPOP lays out the procedure, materials, and everything else you’ll need for the lesson — even time approximations!

That thorough approach to detail makes it easier to plan different tasks you’ll carry out throughout the lesson each day.

Even if the lesson takes a full week, you can still plan appropriately and stay on task.

Unfortunately, BrainPOP doesn’t have many downloadable resources you can print and use in the classroom.

4. TEDEd's Resources for Teaching Problem Solving Skills

TEDEd is an active advocate of education and learning materials. That’s why they have an enormous section of their website dedicated to problem solving skills .

In this section, you’ll find videos and interactive tasks that walk students through riddles, problems, and complications to find desirable results.

Every riddle and problem has an answer, so you don’t have to worry about figuring it out yourself. Even better, you can be sure there’s a practical solution to every issue.

Best of all, you leave students with the freedom to innovate their own solutions, potentially creating a new solution that a riddle maker hadn’t considered.

The varying complexity and length of these lessons make them ideal for various grade levels. However, you can choose to filter specifically for middle school.

On the downside, these aren’t literal “lesson plans.” TEDEd provides many resources, but they’re not contextualized for a classroom.

Instead, you’ll have to build your lessons around these resources to get the best results.

This makes TEDEd an excellent catchall whenever you need problem solving materials.

You’ll just have to do a little extra work to make it classroom ready.

Which Problem Solving Lessons Are Best?

Overall, there isn't a simple "best" option for teaching problem solving in middle school. It all depends on the needs of you, your course, and your students.

Each resource we've shared could be a great addition to your career readiness curriculum.

However, if you need a curriculum that includes problem solving skills among other career readiness topics, consider looking into iCEV’s career readiness and digital literacy curriculum.

Thousands of teachers like you use the curriculum to teach career exploration , personal financial literacy , communication skills and more.

Overall, it helps you save time with planning, assessing, and grading student work all while maximizing student understanding and information retention.

Wondering if iCEV could work for your middle school classroom? Check out our Middle School digital Literacy & Career Exploration curriculum :

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10 Best Problem Solving Activities For Middle School

Published on april 24, 2017 at 8:43 am by amber hewitt in lists , news.

If you’re a teacher or a parent looking to engage young students in a more interesting way, you might like this list of the best problem solving activities for middle school .

I wonder if middle schoolers could solve my life problems. Can they file my taxes or pay my rent? Those are some real problems that I have and I think they could be somewhat fun activities for middle schoolers. It’s interesting how problem-solving scenarios change as we age because I genuinely can’t identify with the struggle of theoretical problems involving trains or the alphabet, but I’m sure I enjoyed them when I was younger. I think my friends and I really used to love finding these things and solving them together, which is kind of a cute group activity.

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Problem solving is a great way to strengthen and train the brain for more difficult things as we age. They teach you teamwork, logic, and skill, which are all extremely important for developing minds. Even into adulthood you should continue solving theoretical problems like these because they’ll keep your brain strong and focused so your other issues like “how late can I sleep while still getting to work on time?” or “how much money will I have in my bank account if I order dinner every single night this week?” Those are obviously much more challenging than the fun problem-solving activities for preschoolers , or even this list with activities for kids in middle school.

In order to create this list, we used Concordia University and IceBreaker as some primary sources. We took the suggestions that were the highest ranked on both sources and averaged their rankings. If they were on both lists, they’re at a higher position on ours. Overall, each of these activities is well suited for middle school-aged children who need a little mental exercise.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best problem solving activities for middle school.

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10 Helpful Worksheet Ideas for Primary School Math Lessons

M athematics is a fundamental subject that shapes the way children think and analyze the world. At the primary school level, laying a strong foundation is crucial. While hands-on activities, digital tools, and interactive discussions play significant roles in learning, worksheets remain an essential tool for reinforcing concepts, practicing skills, and assessing understanding. Here’s a look at some helpful worksheets for primary school math lessons.

Comparison Chart Worksheets

Comparison charts provide a visual means for primary school students to grasp relationships between numbers or concepts. They are easy to make at www.storyboardthat.com/create/comparison-chart-template , and here is how they can be used:

• Quantity Comparison: Charts might display two sets, like apples vs. bananas, prompting students to determine which set is larger.
• Attribute Comparison: These compare attributes, such as different shapes detailing their number of sides and characteristics.
• Number Line Comparisons: These help students understand number magnitude by placing numbers on a line to visualize their relative sizes.
• Venn Diagrams: Introduced in later primary grades, these diagrams help students compare and contrast two sets of items or concepts.
• Weather Charts: By comparing weather on different days, students can learn about temperature fluctuations and patterns.

Number Recognition and Counting Worksheets

For young learners, recognizing numbers and counting is the first step into the world of mathematics. Worksheets can offer:

• Number Tracing: Allows students to familiarize themselves with how each number is formed.
• Count and Circle: Images are presented, and students have to count and circle the correct number.
• Missing Numbers: Sequences with missing numbers that students must fill in to practice counting forward and backward.

Basic Arithmetic Worksheets

Once students are familiar with numbers, they can start simple arithmetic. 

• Addition and Subtraction within 10 or 20: Using visual aids like number lines, counters, or pictures can be beneficial.
• Word Problems: Simple real-life scenarios can help students relate math to their daily lives.
• Skip Counting: Worksheets focused on counting by 2s, 5s, or 10s.

Geometry and Shape Worksheets

Geometry offers a wonderful opportunity to relate math to the tangible world.

• Shape Identification: Recognizing and naming basic shapes such as squares, circles, triangles, etc.
• Comparing Shapes: Worksheets that help students identify differences and similarities between shapes.
• Pattern Recognition: Repeating shapes in patterns and asking students to determine the next shape in the sequence.

Measurement Worksheets

Measurement is another area where real-life application and math converge.

• Length and Height: Comparing two or more objects and determining which is longer or shorter.
• Weight: Lighter vs. heavier worksheets using balancing scales as visuals.
• Time: Reading clocks, days of the week, and understanding the calendar.

Data Handling Worksheets

Even at a primary level, students can start to understand basic data representation.

• Tally Marks: Using tally marks to represent data and counting them.
• Simple Bar Graphs: Interpreting and drawing bar graphs based on given data.
• Pictographs: Using pictures to represent data, which can be both fun and informative.

Place Value Worksheets

Understanding the value of each digit in a number is fundamental in primary math.

• Identifying Place Values: Recognizing units, tens, hundreds, etc., in a given number.
• Expanding Numbers: Breaking down numbers into their place value components, such as understanding 243 as 200 + 40 + 3.
• Comparing Numbers: Using greater than, less than, or equal to symbols to compare two numbers based on their place values.

Fraction Worksheets

Simple fraction concepts can be introduced at the primary level.

• Identifying Fractions: Recognizing half, quarter, third, etc., of shapes or sets.
• Comparing Fractions: Using visual aids like pie charts or shaded drawings to compare fractions.
• Simple Fraction Addition: Adding fractions with the same denominator using visual aids.

Money and Real-Life Application Worksheets

Understanding money is both practical and a great way to apply arithmetic.

• Identifying Coins and Notes: Recognizing different denominations.
• Simple Transactions: Calculating change, adding up costs, or determining if there’s enough money to buy certain items.
• Word Problems with Money: Real-life scenarios involving buying, selling, and saving.

Logic and Problem-Solving Worksheets

Even young students can hone their problem-solving skills with appropriate challenges.

• Sequences and Patterns: Predicting the next item in a sequence or recognizing a pattern.
• Logical Reasoning: Simple puzzles or riddles that require students to think critically.
• Story Problems: Reading a short story and solving a math-related problem based on the context.

Worksheets allow students to practice at their own pace, offer teachers a tool for assessment, and provide parents with a glimpse into their child’s learning progression. While digital tools and interactive activities are gaining prominence in education, the significance of worksheets remains undiminished. They are versatile and accessible and, when designed creatively, can make math engaging and fun for young learners.

The post 10 Helpful Worksheet Ideas for Primary School Math Lessons appeared first on Mom and More .