Math Puzzles

In a perfect world, learning should be fun. After all, children are born with a natural desire to learn. But it is one thing to learn how insects work by capturing one and spending a leisurely Saturday afternoon playing with it than conquering the complex concepts of the world of math. But the principle remains that for all students, children, teenagers and adults alike, if we enjoy the way we are taught a subject, that makes it a lot easier to learn.

For teachers and parents alike, if you find fun types of math homework that still teach the principles you want to get across but do so with a game or an adventuresome story, you will see a much higher level of interest and engagement by the young students you wish to inspire. Puzzles make such better homework than a page of 30-40 math problems that are little more than formulas focused on the lesson of the week with some part missing for the student to solve. These kinds of math problems fail to hold the interest of the student and because they are, for lack of a better word, "boring", the math concept that is supposed to be reinforced by the assignment goes untaught.

It isn't "selling out" to switch your approach to homework for your students to games, story problems and puzzles instead of pages of math problems. It is just good teaching. One goal of teaching is to make sure the concepts are being engaged by the students. Homework strives to help kids take the theoretical concepts being taught in class and learn them in an applied fashion. A math principle has not been taught thoroughly until the student demonstrates an ability to use the concept in application.

Truthfully, in life outside of the classroom, many math concepts are crucial skills to have to enjoy success. But the reason math is so important to an adult is that it is part of real life problems and learning to solve for the variable will mean the difference between success and failure. So it makes sense for the kind of homework you give to kids or the math activities parents introduce to their children to reinforce their schooling be realistic and based on a goal.

This is what puzzles, games and word problems that target each math principle stand out as excellent methods to teach students each math idea. The students will dive into such assignments because solving a math based puzzle is so much more entertaining and dynamic than a page of formulas. So by using these tools, you see your student or child get better grades in school. But moreover, games and fun math activities can encourage a love of learning and a love of math that can last a lifetime. That is an outstanding outcome of any educational activity or assignment.