Math Scavenger Hunts

One of my favorite ways to use task cards in the classroom is to hide them around the classroom, so students have to hunt for the cards before they can complete each task.  Cards are numbered, so students can complete the tasks in any order.  It's just a little way to get them out of their seats and moving around the room, and it's a super easy way to add a little more fun to the activity.  It only takes a couple of minutes to do - I'll hide the cards in the morning or during a break - when the kids aren't in the room - in the bookshelf, behind cupboard doors, under a desk top, on the back of a chair ... anywhere except inside desks or books.

This way of hiding task cards led to me creating these Math Scavenger Hunt Task Cards.  One of our school goals is to continue to integrate more technology into our activities, so I made these cards as more of a "digital scavenger hunt" - students will collect pictures of the objects or numbers they need to find according to the task cards, rather than collect the actual object or number.  Students can take pictures of the objects on any device - depending on the number of devices you have available, you could have students complete this activity individually, in pairs, or in groups.  I only have 5 iPads in my room, so we'll definitely be working in groups.  You can have students work only in your classroom to complete the tasks (or find the objects), or they can work in a larger area of the school if you have access to one.  Students should hunt through books, magazines, classroom walls and resources, newspapers, anywhere and everywhere, while trying to find the different objects.

Students could use the pictures they collect as evidence they have completed the tasks.  They could also display their picture galleries to other groups during a "gallery walk" activity.  You could also take it a step further and have students create a quick slideshow of their scavenger finds.  There are many possibilities.  Pictures could also be printed and added to students journal responses as a reflective bulletin board.

This Scavenger Hunt Task Card Bundle contains 4 different scavenger hunt resources - Place Value, Math in Real Life (a good overall review of math terms), Classroom Geometry, and Classroom Measurement (two versions of this resource are included - one with metric units and one with customary).  Each resource makes a great diagnostic activity at the beginning of the unit, or a review before a summative task.  They are also an easy low-prep activity, perfect for your sub tub, or math station resources.

Each resource contains a Minds-On Task I like to use whole group to introduce the activity, 12 task cards, a journal prompt (this is optional - it could also be a good discussion question or activity at the end of the task), and a student answer page.

You can take a peek at my Math Scavenger Hunt Bundle by clicking HERE or on any of the images in this post.

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