Students will be begging to solve math problems. 🤣
You will need jigsaw puzzles, plenty of problems for students to solve, an answer key for the problems, jigsaw game cards, paper, and pencils.
Jigsaw Puzzles
Begin with a few jigsaw puzzles. You will need one per group. I suggest 12-24 piece ones. The difficulty really doesn't matter. My middle school students absolutely could care less about how childish the puzzle might be. It's the challenge of completing it that is motivating. A dollar store is a good place to get these. You could also bring puzzles that you may have laying around at home or ask students to donate some.
To prepare, number each puzzle box with a sharpie. Also write the number of the puzzle on the back of each piece. (So, each piece of puzzle #1 will be labeled with #1 on the back, each piece of puzzle #2 will be labeled with #2 on the back, etc.). You will be glad you've done this when a student inevitably puts a piece in the wrong box.
Problems
Math problems that require some work rather than quick answer ones will work best for this activity. Prepare a set of task cards or slips of paper with problems on them. You will need quite a few problems because groups will be sharing these. You will also need to have an answer key for students to check. This may be posted somewhere in the room, or be kept at the teacher's desk.
Jigsaw Game Cards
Print one set of the jigsaw game cards (found at the bottom of this page). Cut these apart and put them in a container on the teacher's desk. Printing them on card stock will make them easy to reuse.
Groups
I have found that 3-5 students per group works well. Each student will need a piece of paper with his/her name at the top and a pencil.
Game Play
- Set out the puzzles (pieces face down), jigsaw game cards (face down), answer key, and problem cards/slips.
- Divide students into groups with paper and pencil for each person.
- Have one student from each group come to the teacher's desk and choose a problem. Then, return to their group where each student will write it down and solve it on their own paper.
- When ALL students in the group have solved their problem with appropriate work shown, they should compare answers. Students should discuss any differing solutions and help each other to correct work as needed. Emphasize that this must be done in a helpful and respectful manner. If not, the group will be disqualified from that question and must try another one. If appropriate work is not shown by every group member, this would also disqualify the team for that problem. (Once the group experiences disqualification, they will normally not want to break the rules again.)
- One student should bring all of the group's papers along with the problem card to the teacher's desk. There, they will check the solution with the answer key, and show the completed work to the teacher (to verify that all students are doing the work).
- Then, the student will draw a jigsaw game card to see how many puzzle pieces they have won. They will return the jigsaw game card and the problem card, select a new one, and take the jigsaw puzzle pieces to their group to repeat the process.
- The game is over once the group has collected all puzzle pieces and completed their puzzle.
