Back to School Addition Word Problems Within 100 Math Detective Mystery
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Inside the case file
Addition word problems within 100 worksheets for 2nd grade and 3rd grade, three back to school CSI Mini Mystery Detective math cases set in the classroom. Every one step word problem is written in short plain sentences, so the reading stays out of the way of the math, and each answer crosses a suspect off the lineup until one name is left. No prep math activities for August and September, then math centers, small groups, early finishers, homework and sub plans, with full answer keys.
Word problems are the part of the week most second graders put off, and a CSI Mini Mystery Detective math case with a suspect at the end is the reason they read to the last line. Because the answer has to match a name, students check their own adding before they cross anyone off, and the class works through a page without you reading every question aloud.
The Cases
- The Teachers Lunchbox - gone, and nobody saw a thing
- The Missing Teacher - a teacher has disappeared
- The Missing Art Supplies - the art cupboard is emptied
What's Inside
- Three case files, each with a crime sheet of word problems and its own lineup of suspects
- One step addition word problems within 100
- Short, plain sentences, so the reading does not get in the way of the math
- 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. Students read the brief, work the questions, and match each answer to a suspect in the lineup, striking names off until the last one is the culprit. Nothing is assembled and nothing is bought, so the math carries the whole thing, which is what makes these detective activities different from a set of math worksheets. It works as a lesson, a math center, or a page left for a substitute.
When to Use This Resource
Word problems are the part of the year students dig their heels in over, and this is the set that gets them past the first sentence. Use it when you start one step problems, then again before testing, when the class can add perfectly well but stops reading the moment a question has words in it. Every problem points at a suspect, so there is a reason to finish the sentence.
It works for test prep, homework, math centers, morning work, early finishers, sub plans and homeschool lessons, with a whole class, a small group or one student alone.
Grade Levels
Written for 2nd grade, where one step addition word problems within 100 sit in the standards, and used with 3rd graders as a start of year warm up. First graders take it late in the year with the teacher reading the briefs aloud.
Why Teachers Love These Cases
- Plain wording, so a slow reader is not stopped before the math starts
- Students check themselves as the wrong suspect comes off the lineup
- No prep, and the answer keys make grading quick
- Works with a whole class, a small group, partners, or one student alone
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