Recently I watched a riddle on the TED-Ed YouTube
channel. The riddle in the video asked students to figure out how four
individuals can escape a bunch of zombies by crossing a bridge in a certain
amount of time. Of course there are several restrictions which make this
problem more difficult. You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yDmGnA8Hw0&list=PLq0rVXUJbyUAAEPF0Az6sQL7JCEQxwfdF.
This video was shown to grade 7 and 8 students and they
had to try and solve the riddle on their own or in small groups. At first, the
students would come up with the obvious method of sending two people at a time,
sending one back with the lantern, sending two people again and so on, but
quickly they realized that by doing this they went over the time limit. At this
point, many students claimed that this riddle was impossible! However, once
told that there was in fact a solution, they continued to work on it and try
various combinations which could lead them to the answer.
Watching the students discuss the possible solutions and
try to come up with a method was very great to see. I loved how engaged they
were and how such a short video got them so interested! Once they came up with
the answers some students literary jumped for joy.
I believe that this video is a great tool for an
occasional teacher to use in a classroom. Many times occasional teachers find
themselves with students who lose interest in the assigned worksheets and get
distracted, or sometimes they just have extra time at the end of class. This
would be a great video to chow students in a math classroom in order to get
them engaged again and apply their skills to something fun. Full time teachers
can even use this in their classrooms to show students can math can be fun.
When the grade 7’s and 8’s were completing this activity
they were all very interested in it and it lasted about 20 minutes.
What are some methods you use to get a class engaged?
Wow! That was a great resource! Thanks for writing about that. I think this would be a great way to get students talking in groups about math. I am in a grade 7 class tomorrow and I am going to try it out! I will let you know what they think...stay tuned...
ReplyDeleteTerrific activity! I would be interested in seeing how students might consolidate the learning from this clip... What specific math concepts might be discussed? How did students strategize to come up with their solution?
ReplyDeleteI would also want to ensure we discussed how perseverance and collaboration played a huge role in solving it. Emphasizing the importance group conversation to work through the problem would also be important.
Some follow-up "bridge-crossing" riddles can be found at http://www.mathfair.com/puzzles.html (Then choose River Crossing Puzzles).
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSo, as promised, I tried this today with a group of grade 8's. The class LOVED the video clip (they were silent). The clip did a good job of summarizing the key information they needed to solve the puzzle because they all had the information they needed without having to replay it or recap it. They discussed it themselves and came up with some pretty creative answers (piggy back and throwing the lantern were some that stuck out in my mind). One individual was familiar with this puzzle already so I asked him to go around the room to the groups and see if any needed to stretch their thinking a little. When they saw the answer they all groaned - but then wanted to do another one LOL. I think it was successful and I would definitely use this again. Thanks for the resource!!
ReplyDeleteWow! What an awesome idea! I’ve used riddles in an English concept before, but I’ve never thought about using them in a math class! I love that you’ve given the idea of occasional teachers using this for students for a spacer activity, or if the full time teacher hasn’t left any work for cover.
ReplyDeleteTeamwork, critical thinking, and perseverance are so important when trying to solve any riddles! This website (http://gpuzzles.com/quiz/math-riddles-with-answers/) has lots of math riddles to help cover various sections of the curriculum. I think that if students were split up into groups and each group was given a piece of flip chart paper. Students can then show their work and how they got to the conclusion that they did!
Wow! What an awesome idea! I’ve used riddles in an English concept before, but I’ve never thought about using them in a math class! I love that you’ve given the idea of occasional teachers using this for students for a spacer activity, or if the full time teacher hasn’t left any work for cover.
ReplyDeleteTeamwork, critical thinking, and perseverance are so important when trying to solve any riddles! This website (http://gpuzzles.com/quiz/math-riddles-with-answers/) has lots of math riddles to help cover various sections of the curriculum. I think that if students were split up into groups and each group was given a piece of flip chart paper. Students can then show their work and how they got to the conclusion that they did!
This is a wonderful video which can really attract students attention for a while. Students need to use their problem solving and reasoning skills to solve this math related riddle. As a supply teacher, I can see myself use this riddle and video clips in different classrooms when I need to engage/ challenge students more. Considering different learning styles, students can be separated into different groups. They can have discussion with other students which improve their communication skills. I may encourage students to take risks making attempts to solve this problem. I really like this video and I will try to use this type videos as many as I can stimulate students learning.
ReplyDelete