2-Digit by 2-Digit Multiplication

Inside the case file

2 digit by 2 digit multiplication worksheets for 4th grade and 5th grade: five zombie math cases, each a Mystery Detective page. Print and go with full answer keys: no prep math activities for math centers, early finishers, homework, morning work and sub plans. The cases are set during a zombie outbreak at school, where each product strikes a classmate, a place or a cure off the clue list; a safe hideout to find, a classmate who has turned and a leader running the lot carry the story, and long multiplication is the only way through it.

October is the obvious month for this one, and a zombie outbreak is a better reason to work through long multiplication than a worksheet heading is, but the story is not tied to Halloween and runs any week the unit lands. A wrong product matches no clue, so a slipped carry shows up on the page. Five CSI Mini Mystery Detective math cases covers the week.

The Cases

1. Finding A Safe Hideout - where is it safe to hide
2. Zombie Classmate - one of the class has turned
3. Missing Friend - a friend lost in the outbreak
4. Zombie Leader - somebody is running them
5. Zombie Teacher - find the cure and change them back

What's Inside

• Five case files, each a page of 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication
• Every product worked the long way, with partial products written out
• A clue list beside the questions, so one answer removes one name
• A red-ink answer key for all five cases
• Story and artwork built for an older elementary class, not a young one
• Print and go: no cutting, no laminating, nothing to prepare

What Is a CSI Mini Mystery Detective?

A CSI Mini Mystery Detective is one printed page carrying a crime and the clue list that solves it. Each clue is tagged with a number, the questions produce those numbers, and a correct answer crosses that clue off until one is left. It runs like an escape room with no locks and no app, and accurate multiplication is the only way to the answer.

When to Use This Resource

This is the set for the practice half of the multi digit multiplication unit, once the class can set the algorithm out and needs the repetitions. It earns a second run before testing, since two digit by two digit is where partial products go missing. The zombie theme makes it an easy pick for October, but nothing in the math is seasonal.

Use it for math centers, early finishers, homework, test prep, morning work, sub plans and homeschool lessons, with a whole class, a small group or one student.

Grade Levels

Written for 4th grade and 5th grade. Fourth graders meet two digit by two digit here, and fifth graders use it as a fluency check before the unit moves on to division.

Why Teachers Love These Cases

• A dropped partial product matches no clue, so students go back and check
• Nothing to prepare beyond pressing print
• Five cases makes a week of practice from one file
• The theme carries a class that has gone off worksheets

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