Every February 2nd, the beloved groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, emerges from his hole beneath the ground in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania in a time-honored tradition that determines whether or not we will have a longer winter or an early spring.
As the tradition goes, if Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. But, if Phil doesn’t see his shadow, then spring will come six weeks early!
And while Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction skills are actually very poor (according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, he is only correct 40% of the time), Groundhog Day remains a highly anticipated holiday where millions of people are left anxiously awaiting the fate of the weather for the next six weeks (and keeping their fingers crossed in hopes of early spring).
Looking to Celebrate Groundhog Day with Your Students?
If so, today I am sharing three Groundhog Day-themed math puzzles for grades K-8 AND a bonus Groundhog Day “Think-Notice-Wonder” Writing Prompt!
Whether you’re teaching your kids at home, remotely, or in the classroom, you don’t want to miss this opportunity to celebrate Groundhog Day in your math classroom.
…
These kinds of activities are perfect for mixing up your instructions, giving your students opportunities to think creatively about math, and adding some fun learning experiences into your lesson plans.
All of the math puzzles and activities share below are opposite day-versions from the puzzles featured in our best-selling workbook 101 Daily Math Puzzles for Challenging Students in Grades 1-8 (Volume 2)
HOW TO DOWNLOAD: You can download any of the puzzles below by right-clicking and saving the file to your computer and/or dragging-and-dropping the file to your desktop.
ANSWER KEY: Scroll to the bottom of this post to access the complete answer key.
Groundhog Day Math Puzzle #1: Grades K-2
(Keep reading to access the answer key)
Groundhog Day Math Puzzle #2: Grades 3-5
(Keep reading to access the answer key)
Groundhog Day Math Puzzle #3: Grades 6-8
(Keep reading to access the answer key)
All of today’s math puzzles are opposite day versions of the puzzles shared in our best-selling workbook: 101 Daily Math Challenges for Grades 1-8 Volume 2
Here are some samples from the book:
101 Daily Math Challenges for Grades 1-8 Volume 2 is now available as a PDF download. You can get yours today by clicking here.
Bonus! Groundhog Day Writing Prompt for Grades K-8
The following Think-Notice-Wonder (TNW) writing prompt displays all of the Groundhog Day results since the year 2000. Based on the data chart, what will your students think, notice, and wonder? And what kind of great mathematical discussions will it lead to??
If you are new to TNW math writing activities, click here to learn everything you need to know.
ANSWER KEY:
Puzzle #1 (Grades K-2): Groundhog=9 Sun=1 Clouds=3 ?=12
Puzzle #2 (Grades 3-5): Groundhog=12 Sun=0 Top Hat=6 ?=6
Puzzle #3 (Grades 6-8+): Clouds=19, Sun=8, Groundhog in Hole=32,
Groundhog with hat & TV=any two numbers whose sum is 13 (ex. 7 and 6), ?=416Bonus Puzzle: TNW activities do not have a single correct answer: Learn More
Have questions or ideas? Share your thoughts, questions, and suggestions in the comments section below!
(Never miss a Mashup Math blog--click here to get our weekly newsletter!)
By Anthony Persico
Anthony is the content crafter and head educator for YouTube's MashUp Math and an advisor to Amazon Education's 'With Math I Can' Campaign. You can often find me happily developing animated math lessons to share on my YouTube channel . Or spending way too much time at the gym or playing on my phone.
You Might Also Like…
