Multiplication & Division CSI Mystery Worksheets
Grades 3–4 · Who Stole the Leopard's Spots
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Inside the case file
3rd grade and 4th grade addition, rounding and multiplication CSI math worksheets wrapped in a jungle animals CSI Mystery Detective case, timed for November when a 4th grade math review needs to feel like something else entirely. The leopard's spots were there on Tuesday and gone by Wednesday, and somebody in this jungle has something that is not theirs. Your students add three-digit numbers, round to the nearest ten to reveal letters, and use multiplication facts to unlock a code chart, crossing an animal off the line-up with every correct answer until one is left to explain. Prints in color or black and white with nothing to cut, and answer keys cover the entire mystery.
The Case: Who Stole the Leopard's Spots?
We all have something that makes us us - the way we look, the thing we are good at, the thing we are quietly proud of. The leopard had spots. Had. They were there on Tuesday and gone by Wednesday, and the leopard is not taking it well. Somebody in this jungle is walking around with something that is not theirs, and your students have the math to prove it.
What's Inside
- Addition with three-digit numbers running into larger totals
- Rounding to the nearest ten, shading the correct answer to reveal letters
- Multiplication facts used to reach the final clue
- Multi-step problems where the last answers unlock a code chart
- A suspect line-up that narrows every time a clue is solved
- Full color and black-and-white versions of every page
- Answer keys for the whole case
What Is a CSI Mystery Detective Case?
It is an investigation on paper: the students do the math, and the math names the suspect. Each correct answer clears one from the line-up, and the last standing is the arrest. A CSI Mystery Detective case works like a math escape room with the locks taken out - no app, no props, no prep - and it is self-checking in a way math worksheets are not, because a wrong answer points the description at nobody. Use it as a whole math activity, in math centers, or as detective activities for early finishers.
When to Use This Resource
- Review across addition, rounding and multiplication in one sitting
- Back-to-school weeks and end of year review
- Math centers, early finishers and independent work
- Emergency sub plans that run themselves
- An animals or jungle topic week, alongside science or reading work
Grade Levels
Built for 3rd grade and 4th grade. Third graders may need a reminder about rounding before they start; fourth graders usually run the case independently. It also gives 5th grade students who need addition and rounding review something with a point to it.
Why Teachers Love CSI Mystery Detective Cases
- Zero prep - print and hand out
- Self-checking by design, because a wrong answer breaks the deduction
- Three skills reviewed in one activity rather than one drilled
- Works as a whole lesson, a center, or a filler for an awkward afternoon
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