Often there are times in class when students finish their work or test early. Instead of students twiddling their thumbs physically or mentally, give them a challenging math problem to solve. Problem solving in math promotes critical thinking and math reasoning skills, as students develop solutions to complex mathematical situations.
The Problem
A strategy game which takes advantage of the movements of a specific chess piece - the Knight.
Knights can only move 2 spaces forward and then 1 space to the right or left or 1 space forward and then 2 spaces right or left.
The Challenge
How can a knight in the lower left hand corner of a 5×5 grid visit each square exactly once?
The knight may not revisit a square.
The Procedures
Students can select anywhere to start on the 5 x 5 grid.
Place a 1 in the starting square.
Then place a 2 in the next square and so forth as the strategy game continues
One excellent characteristic of this game is that there are multitude of solutions. Here is one solution:
Extensions
Use different size grids, such as 8 x 8 or 6 x 6.
Additional Math Problem Solving Resources
12 Tips for Solving Word Problems
Math and Problem Solving Skills
Math Teaching Strategies that Challenge Students
Tags: critical thinking, math games, math problem solving, math reasoning skills
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