Fall Addition & Subtraction CSI Mystery Worksheets

Inside the case file

Fall CSI math worksheets, fall addition and subtraction practice, and a Halloween-friendly monster line-up for 2nd grade, 3rd grade and 4th grade - all in one printable Mystery Detective pack. Built for September, October and November: the first cool weeks of fall, the run-up to Halloween, and Thanksgiving week before the break. Completely no prep - just print and go.

The Case: Who Stole the Colors?

The leaves around school are turning from green to yellow to orange to brown, and then falling off the trees. Someone is stealing the color. Your class takes the case, works the clues, and crosses suspects off the chart until one name is left standing. Every clue answers a different question about the culprit, so the list narrows a little further with each page they finish.

What's Inside

• 3-digit addition with regrouping
• Adding 1-digit numbers to 3-digit numbers along a leaf-trail path
• Addition and subtraction word problems, including money and change
• Deciding whether a given equation is right or wrong - error spotting, not just answering
• Odd and even numbers as a way of narrowing the suspects
• Reading a suspect chart and matching your answers against it
• Answer keys included
• Color and black-and-white versions, so it prints clean on any copier

What Is a Mystery Detective Case?

A Mystery Detective case is a printable escape room with no locks and no boxes. Students solve a page of math, use what the answer tells them to rule suspects out, and keep going until one suspect is left. The pages check themselves - a wrong answer stops the case in its tracks, so students go back and find their own slip before it ever reaches your marking pile.

When to Use This Resource

• Fall math centers
• The lead-up to Halloween, and Halloween week itself
• Thanksgiving week and the days before the break
• September, October and November math review
• Sub plans and emergency cover
• Early finishers and morning work
• Homework, small groups and partner work

Grade Levels

Designed for 2nd grade, 3rd grade and 4th grade, where 3-digit addition and regrouping sit right on the standards. It also works as review for a 5th grader who still needs practice carrying across columns, and as an extension for a confident 1st grader who is ready to be stretched.

Why Teachers Love Mystery Detective Cases

• No prep at all - print it and hand it out
• Self-checking, so you are not hunting through thirty pages for one slipped digit
• The suspect chart gives every student a reason to go back and check their own working
• Every clue uses a different puzzle shape, so the pack holds attention to the last page
• Quiet, focused engagement in a week when the classroom is anything but

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