Thanksgiving Word Problems

Inside the case file

Thanksgiving word problems for 3rd grade, 4th grade and 5th grade, set out as ten CSI Mini Mystery Detective math worksheets. The cases use all four operations, with one-step problems to start and multi step word problems from case four on, and the Thanksgiving feast theme makes them an easy fit for November math. Use them for morning work, math centers, homework or test prep. They're no prep, and there's an answer key for each one.

The week before Thanksgiving is a good time to put the word problem strategies your class has been learning to work, and these cases do that without feeling like a test. Students read a problem about a pumpkin pie or a Turkey Trot, choose the operations, and match the answer to a suspect, which means they are checking their own work as they go. A case fills a morning work slot or a math center rotation, and every CSI Mini Mystery Detective page marks itself.

What's Inside

• 10 one-page Thanksgiving cases with 15 word problems on each, 150 problems in all
• An answer key for every case
• Adding and subtracting within 1,000, multiplying by a one-digit number, and dividing two-digit numbers
• Cases 1 to 3 are one-step problems. Cases 4 to 10 are two-step and multi-step problems
• Five picture pages: a grocery store flyer, sharing cards, recipe cards, compare cards and a fridge ledger, where students take the numbers off the page rather than a sentence
• A reference page on reading the problem twice, choosing the operation, working one step at a time, comparing, using a letter for the unknown and estimating to check
• Teacher instructions, a contents page, a student case log and a Chief Feast Detective certificate
• 30 pages, made to print in black and white

The Cases

1. The Vanished Pumpkin Pie - adding and subtracting within 1,000
2. The Shopping Cart Switch - prices and quantities off a store flyer
3. The Dinner Roll Divide - sharing and equal groups on cards
4. The Backyard Fumble - multiply, then add or subtract
5. The Recipe Card Riddle - scale up a recipe, then adjust
6. The Table Setting Tangle - add or subtract, then multiply or divide
7. The Balloon Blowout - compare two amounts side by side
8. The Leftover Ledger - work the fridge ledger backwards
9. The Turkey Trot Mix-Up - divide, then multiply, and mixed steps
10. The Feast Finale - mixed review with bigger numbers

When to Use This Resource

In 3rd grade, use the first three cases in the two weeks before Thanksgiving to warm up on one-step problems, then move into the two-step cases as your class is ready. A 4th grade class can start at The Backyard Fumble and work through to The Feast Finale, which uses three-digit numbers and two-digit multiplying, so it doubles as multi-step word problem test prep. 5th graders can use the later cases as a review of problem solving with whole numbers before moving on to decimals and fractions. Half the cases are picture pages, so students also practice pulling the numbers out of a flyer, a recipe card or a ledger rather than a sentence. You can also hand a single case to a small group, use one as a bell ringer, leave a few with sub plans for the days before the holiday, or send them home for homeschool practice.

Grade Levels

Written for 3rd grade (3.OA.D.8) and 4th grade (4.OA.A.3), where the multi-step problems with all four operations sit. 5th grade teachers can use it for problem solving review and intervention.

Why Teachers Love Mystery Detectives

Every Mystery Detective pack works the same way. Once your class has solved one case, they know what to do with the next one, in this pack or any other. Each case also stands on its own, which means you can choose the one that fits what you're teaching that day. Naming the villain gives every page a clear end point, and the answer key lets you check a page quickly.

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