2-Digit by 1-Digit Multiplication

Inside the case file

End of year math for 3rd grade and 4th grade: five summer CSI Mini Mystery Detective math cases of 2 digit by 1 digit multiplication, each one a CSI Mini Mystery Detective where the right product clears a suspect and the wrong one clears nobody. Lifeguards, picnics, ice cream and a lemonade stand carry the theme, and the multiplication underneath is a fluency check before the year ends. After state testing activities for May and June, then math centers, early finishers, homework, sub plans and back to school review in August, no prep, full answer keys.

The last weeks of the year need resources that hold a class without any effort from you, and a summer case with a culprit at the end of it does that better than a review sheet. Students multiply, match the product to a name, cross it off and keep going, so everyone stays busy at their own pace. One CSI Mini Mystery Detective math case a day covers the week.

The Cases

1. Lifeguards Cooler - the cooler is emptied at the beach
2. Picnic Basket - no basket, and the picnic is today
3. Gardening Tools - the caretaker's shed is emptied
4. Missing Ice Cream - the truck is emptied on a hot day
5. Lemonade Stand - every lemon vanishes before opening

What's Inside

• Five case files, each with a crime sheet and its own lineup of suspects
• 2 digit by 1 digit multiplication on every page
• Products that need a carry, so it is more than a facts drill
• Each answer matches one suspect and no other, so the page checks itself
• A full answer key for every case
• Print and go: no cutting, no laminating, nothing to prepare

What Is a CSI Mini Mystery Detective?

A CSI Mini Mystery Detective is one page, one crime and one class period. Each suspect in the lineup is tagged with a number, the questions produce those numbers, and a correct answer knocks a suspect out until the last one standing is the culprit. Nothing needs cutting, laminating or charging, which is why these detective activities get handed out on days that would otherwise call for math worksheets.

When to Use This Resource

May and June, when testing is finished and the multiplication still has to be kept warm for next year. A class that will not start another worksheet will start a case, which is the whole point of this set at that time of year. A missed carry puts the wrong name in the frame, so students check their own work while you get on with everything the end of year demands.

It covers test prep, homework, math centers, morning work, early finishers, sub plans and homeschool lessons, with a class, a small group or one child alone.

Grade Levels

Written for 3rd grade and 4th grade, where multiplying by a single digit sits in the standards. Fifth graders take it as an end of year fluency check, and second graders manage it once their facts to twelve are secure.

Why Teachers Love These Cases

• Keeps multiplication warm in the weeks after testing
• Students check themselves when the wrong suspect comes off the lineup
• No prep at the end of the year
• Works with a whole class, a small group, partners, or one student alone

Love this resource?

Follow Kiwiland Education to discover more CSI Mini Mystery Detective cases, no-prep math activities, and detective-themed printables for elementary classrooms.

Follow Kiwiland Education on TPT ↗

Buy · $4