Skip Counting & Place Value CSI Mystery Worksheets | Grades 1–3 | The Missing Burger

Fall skip counting, missing numbers and place value CSI math worksheets for October, wrapped in a CSI Mystery Detective case called The Missing Burger. The number sense work behind it - counting on in steps, reading base ten blocks, ordering three-digit numbers - is pitched at 2nd grade and 3rd grade, with fill in the missing number pages that reach past 100. Color and black-and-white versions print clean on any copier, with nothing to cut or assemble, and answer keys are included. A Super Deluxe Mega Burger has vanished from the diner, and every clue your class solves rules out one more table until the mystery is closed and the culprit found.

The Case: The Missing Burger

You are at your local diner with your best friend. You have both ordered, and you are waiting on the Super Deluxe Mega Burger. Ten minutes later a very worried waitress comes over, because the burger has gone. Your class takes the case, and each clue narrows down the table it went to.

What's Inside

• Skip counting and completing number sequences in steps
• Reading base ten blocks and naming the number they represent
• Ordering three-digit numbers from smallest to greatest
• Matching numbers across two columns to find the one that fits
• Working a clue backwards from the answer to check it holds
• 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 CSI Mystery Detective Case?

A CSI 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

• A number sense or place value unit, at any point in the year
• The first weeks back, when counting and number order need refreshing
• Math centers, small groups and partner work
• Review before a test on numbers to 999
• Sub plans and emergency cover
• Early finishers, morning work and homework

Grade Levels

Designed for 2nd grade and 3rd grade. The counting and base ten pages give a confident 1st grader a way in, and ordering numbers to 999 still catches out plenty of 4th graders who have never had to slow down and compare hundreds.

Why Teachers Love CSI Mystery Detective Cases

• No prep at all - print it and hand it out
• Self-checking, so a miscounted sequence shows up immediately instead of at marking time
• Every clue uses a different puzzle shape, so the pack holds attention to the last page
• Students recount to be certain before they cross a name off
• Quiet, focused engagement without a single instruction repeated

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