Māhutonga Matariki: Can You Solve Our Algebra Puzzles?

Saturday 11 June 2022

Can You Solve Our Algebra Puzzles?

We have been working through Algebra Puzzles. We know that accepting challenges and staying with a problem helps the brain to grow. We had an idea to make our very own puzzles!

We came up with a co-constructed success criteria:

Include 4 or 5 pictures

The puzzle needs a good starting point

Include answers on the back

Make the puzzle 4 or 5 lines

It needs to include some numbers

We need to remember to do the multiplication first

Animal Algebra by Violet

Why puzzles in Maths?

1. They develop Critical Thinking skills so that you can problem solve in different situations

2. It exercises the brain. Practising these types of puzzles helps the brain to make connections. It helps your brain get used to focusing on a single problem.

3. It will help you to be a more successful Mathematician. You will be able to apply logic to work out Maths problems successfully.

Sarah Flannery, at age of 16, won the Young Scientist of the Year award in Ireland.
This is Sarah talking about Maths and the role her parents played in her own amazing achievements.

“My parents definitely let me see that mathematics was this beautiful subject. I think a lot of people never even hear those two words in the same sentence.
So they gave that to me, and they gave me, through these different puzzles, where even I thought I couldn't start out on them, they showed me, no, you have lots of tools, and techniques, and ways to visualise, and get started, and you can do it.”