I love
Sudoku! In fact you could say I am addicted to Sudoku. When the Globe and Mail arrives at my house
every day I make sure to get to it first to get my hands on the Sudoku puzzles.
Where does this math game come from? How long has it been around? I have been an avid fan for many years, but have wondered where this addicting game originated? I decided to do some research.
As it turns
out, Sudoku is the name the world has come to know of this puzzle in its
present form. The puzzle game’s true
beginning is not Japanese despite how it sounds. Depending on how rigid you define what really
constitutes a Sudoku puzzle, you can in fact trace its evolution through a long
string of paper and pencil puzzles in history. The first shape of Sudoku can be
seen from the magic squares appearing in China around 1000 BC or earlier if you
go along this route.
As we
know it today, Sudoku has a much more recent history. Although its roots may be from China, the
name Sudoku originated from Japan. It is made up of two Japanese words ‘Su’
meaning digit or number and ‘Doku’ meaning single or alone. So
in English, Sudoku means "single digit," or "a number by
itself." Who knew?
In the
late 19th century, number puzzles based on the magic squares started to appear
in French newspapers. Such weekly puzzles became a feature of the French
newspapers until about the time of the First World War.
According to the prestigious and ubiquitous source “Google” The first
recognizable Sudoku puzzle was published in May 1979 by Dell Magazines in their
Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games known as "Number Place" in those
days. The game was thought to be designed by Howards Garns. Garns was a retired
American architect and a freelance puzzle creator born in Indiana. Number Place
became popular in the mid-1980s in Japan after being picked up and renamed
Sudoku by the Japanese Nikoli company. Then in 2005, Sudoku became an
international hit after The Times of London started printing it in November
2004. Howards Garns, the inventor who made the first modern Sudoku, however
didn't live to see the day as he died in October 1989 at the age of 84.
Today,
Sudoku appears in many daily newspapers worldwide, there are also numerous
websites that allow the game to play at varying levels of difficulty. The
appeal of Sudoku can be attributed to both its exceptionally simple rules for
beginners and various sophisticated techniques to sustain the interests of the
more experienced players.
Could Sudoku be incorporated into the Classroom…Why
not?
In a world where children
are spending more and more time watching mindless television and/or playing
video games all the time why not have them learn to think critically in the
classroom? It just might transfer to outside the classroom as well. With
millions and millions of Sudoku puzzles available at different difficulty
levels students could become hooked no matter how old they are. In fact, one of
the beautiful features of Sudoku is that it can be easily adapted to varying
degrees of difficulty from grade 1 to University level. To me it is a no brainer to use this to teach
arithmetic, strategy, and persistence.
Possible
ways of integrating Sudoku in your classroom:
- As a whole class activity,
with a white board or projector at the front of the class
- As a time filler for odd
moments during the day
- As a “reward” when a child
finishes work early
- At the beginning of the day,
placed on the desk for children to do when they come into the classroom
and settle down
- As a weekend activity or fun
homework
- As a daily challenge
Research
states that, “children as young as 5 years old can enjoy the puzzles while at
the same time developing their logical thinking, extending their concentration,
and building their confidence.” The educational role of Sudoku has been
confirmed in a variety of academic studies in recent literature.
There is
just one caveat for Sudoku though “May be habit forming,” should be included in
Sudoku puzzles, but as habits go this would be a good one to have.
Resources:
Links to puzzles:
