Long division math problems don’t have to be tedious and boring. Instead, they can be interesting and engaging.
If you already have something you have been using for years, consider adding variety to your pile of math resources with this newly published Mystery Facts series! After all, new resources and extra choices can make teaching much more fun.
Furthermore, letting your students play this unique gameplay shows how resourceful you are for finding it!
You may be wondering, how is this new product line unique? Isn’t it similar to Mystery Pictures gameplay?
Yes, it is similar in the sense that a piece covering the mystery fact is being removed as students answered 1 question. But that’s all the similarities.
I created the Mystery Facts with the thoughts of how can I prevent students from cheating the system at Boom Learning.
Hmm…you are not sure how students can cheat the traditional Mystery Picture gameplay?
Lucky you.
This means your students have been obedient and solving the questions conscientiously.
However, ever since I spot students trying to “cheat the system”, I started creating products with minimum loopholes.
Mystery Picture Loopholes
The main way students can cheat is by clicking on the “overview” button and seeing the other cards before answering the current card.
In the traditional Mystery Picture whereby the answer is on the piece to be removed, students can easily see which piece was removed in the next card (via the overview function) to get the answer. In this case, they will know which answer to choose without solving the problem.
Alternatively, as it is multiple answers, students can randomly click to try their luck.
Or for students who have done some calculations, they can click on the answer with parts of the answer. For example, 123 x 8 = ___. Students can just find an answer that has 4 in the ones place instead of completing the calculation.
In addition, when it comes to the last question, where there is only one answer left, students tend to skip the workings and just select the last piece. So one question is wasted.
With that all in mind, I created the Mystery Facts that circumvent them.
How Mystery Facts Are Unique
Firstly, students need to fill in the blanks with the answer instead of choosing an answer.
Next, the pieces removed have nothing to do with the answers. This means that even if students are to click the overview, they wouldn’t be able to know the correct answer.
The only way to know the answers to the long division math problems is to do the calculation and type in the answer.
Furthermore, even if students skip all the way to the last question of the set, students still need to answer the question to know the true fact. That’s because the answer is part of the fact!
I think the fact that the answer is part of the fact is a unique feature of this gameplay.
Even though I created different types of Mystery Facts (1 fact revealed for every 7 questions done and 1 fact revealed for every 1 question done), all of them require students to type the answer in the fact to complete the fact.
However, do note that breaking the Mystery Facts system can also be easy and effortless if students already know the facts in advance.
On other hand, if you think positively, this is great because it shows that your students are knowledgeable in that area.
One way to circumvent this is to ask students to show all the workings. In my TPT store, all of the Mystery Facts Long Division math resources included the recording sheets.
Benefits Of Using Mystery Facts
Other than just the fact that there are fewer ways to cheat the system, Mystery Facts have other benefits too.
Instead of just revealing cute picture (which are often quite obvious in the middle of the deck), I think revealing facts are more educational and provide more room for thought.
If the students are interested in the particular theme, it helps spark their interest and curiosity. This means students will be more engaged and on task.
In addition, these decks are interdisciplinary as they involved science, social studies, and/or English.
How To Use Mystery Facts Long Division Product Line
Here’s the sequence you can use the different resources in the product line.
First, introduce students to Long Division Without Remainder. You can guide students through the long division math problems step by step to ensure they know the procedure.
If your students need more practice, homework or to review them in the next lesson, you can use Long Division No Remainder. Students will just need to type in the answer.
Alternatively, you can switch them around. First, do the deck that just requires an answer and do the step-by-step long division math problems for independent practice.
This is because you are able to monitor students when they are doing the questions in class. This means you can ensure they didn’t use any external help (i.e. calculator) to complete the work.
Furthermore, you can ask students to write their workings on the recording sheets and go through with them.
After practicing in school, students can do the step-by-step long division math problems as homework. This is great as they can get immediate feedback even at home. Their process is also recorded in the report digitally.
Next, it is time to learn Long Division With A Remainder.
If your students need more practice, they can do them in this sequence:
Of course, you can also choose to let students do the selected set of long division math problems in the above decks whenever you deem fit. For example, you can do long division without remainder questions on all 3 decks first before moving on to long division with remainder questions.
The choice board makes it great for intervention, math centers/stations, and reviews.
Seasonal Boom Decks
There are some seasonal resources that are best used during the days leading up to the holidays. For example:
Black History Month: Long Division Problems For 4th Grade
Earth Day: Long Division With A Remainder
However, these facts are still important to know after the holidays and can still be used year-round.
If you want more teaching tips, read this blog post: The Top 3 Strategies For Teaching Math In Small Groups Or Classes.
Extension Ideas
1) Make students guess about the hidden facts
For decks that have the facts hidden, they were designed in a way that the important detail of the facts is revealed towards the end.
So, you can ask students to guess what is the fact about after they have done 3 questions. That is about half of the fact revealed. If you are working with a reward or point system, the team that guesses correctly will be rewarded.
2) Discuss the subject of the facts
Have a discussion about the subject before and/or after the set of questions.
For instance, if the theme is Black History Month, before they start doing the deck, ask who they knew. After revealing the famous person, ask what they knew about that particular person.
3) Make sense of the facts
If the facts involved measurements, do students really understand how big or long is it? Ask them to give a metaphor or an example of an item that is of equal measurement.
If it is a date, is that part of any special period in history? Do they know of anyone or anything special that happen during the same period of time?
Ask questions like:
- Why is it like this?
- Why is it important?
- What happened then?
4) Research about the facts
Just because it is written there doesn’t make it a fact. After all, I didn’t show you and your students any evidence, right?
So prove me wrong (and do let me know if there really is a mistake or a change in fact), by asking your students to research more about the fact.
Assign a different fact to each student or team and make them show and tell. Alternatively, let them write a short report about it. (There, you get them to practice their English while finding entertaining facts for you!)
Aren’t you interested to see what other interesting related facts they can find?
Enjoy Many Benefits Buying Bundle
Get Division For 4th Graders at a discount of 20%!
They are NO Prep and self-grading which means that it helps you SAVE TIME and gives IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK to your students!
Not only does each deck have a different theme, but your students also get plenty of practice. This means students get to learn new facts and be proficient in long division. And we all know this is a topic that students really need to have lots of practice to get them right.
Do take note that the bundle at Boom Learning is just the Boom deck alone.
The bundle sold at TPT includes recording sheets and may also include printables & Easel options in the future. Hence, there is a difference in the prices at Boom Learning and TPT.
Do buy them ASAP as I may increase the price later if I were to add in new products or printables. The great thing about bundles is you get them for free if I were to add any more stuff into it after you bought it!
Let me know what other themes you need for long division or what other math skills you would like to see with this gameplay!
Cause I believe this unique gameplay is great for your 4th grader!
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