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Asteroid Collision Escape Room (difficult) 

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Asteroid Collision Escape Room (difficult) 

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Escape this virtual room, before the asteroid hits! Difficulty Level: High

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The year is 2135 and Earth has made lots of progress in exploring our solar system. You are living in space on the space station Freedom 2 near the asteroid belt. The space station is a base for an asteroid mining company. They are mining for water, metals, and minerals. The company accidentally mined too deep and a big chunk of asteroid is headed straight for Freedom 2. Thousands of lives will be lost.

There is a special "Big Space Blaster" tool ("BSB" for short) that you have been developing, in secret, for just this kind of thing. But you lost all accessto your secret lab. You know you have left hints around your room but you must decode them. The asteroid will destroy Freedom 2 in 45 minutes if you don't get to your "BSB" tool in time. You have 45 minutes to get into your secret lab and save the space station.

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Space Station: Freedom 2's Final Minutes The year is 2135 and Earth has made lots of progress in exploring our solar system. You are living in space on the space station Freedom 2 near the asteroid belt. The space station is a base for an asteroid mining company.

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Parents: Please note that all challenges are voluntary! All video submissions are posted publicly so if you do not want your child's face or name to appear on the Flipgrid or website, please only...

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Ozobot coding using Shape Tracer (basic) & Shape Tracer 2 (advanced)

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6 free Escape Room kits, made by other students, as well as a free make-your-own kit.

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Game-Maker's Workshop - Escape room games from people like you

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Ready to see what the other diabolical puzzle masters are creating? We've gathered games from masterminds around the world to share with you here.

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Learn how to play chess or challenge yourself to advanced games.

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Chess Online For Kids - 100% Safe and Free | ChessKid.com

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Have your kids play and learn chess online with the best tools- tactics, puzzles, videos, lessons & more. The #1 kids' site. 100% Safe Environment.

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Connect to the global economy with virtual investing & real world learning

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Want to try investing? SMG InvestQuest is SIFMA Foundation's newest free, fun, and informative investing experience emphasizing diversification and long-term investing over a simulated 5-year period. Company-specific and market-wide news that may impact returns helps you manage a pretend portfolio of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, across beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Try it now!

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Want to try investing? SMG InvestQuest is SIFMA Foundation's newest free, fun, and informative investing experience emphasizing diversification and long-term investing over a simulated 5-year period. Company-specific and market-wide news that may impact returns helps you manage a pretend portfolio of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, across beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

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Check out these challenging logic games!

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Practice logic and spatial reasoning with our popular puzzles and games. Discover fun and engaging learning games for children in grades K to 8.

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Videos and games that make your brain POP!

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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Free online logic games for all grade levels.

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Children need logic and reasoning skills. They need to be able to look at problems and come up with logical solutions or develop strong reasoning to make arguments. While they build some of these skills through basic math instruction, they also build them by solving puzzles and being introduced to unique scenarios.

Math Game Time's free logic videos, games, and worksheets provide children with plenty of fun puzzles and unique problems to solve. Children will work with patterns, number sequences, word problems, and other puzzling scenarios.

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Logic - Free Online Logic Games, Fun Videos & Worksheets for Kids

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Children need logic and reasoning skills. They need to be able to look at problems and come up with logical solutions or develop strong reasoning to make arguments. While they build some of these skills through basic math instruction, they also build them by solving puzzles and being introduced to unique scenarios.

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Explore what NASA Kid's Club has to offer.

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NASA encourages you to visit NASA Kids' Club and use its games and activities to inspire the next generation.

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Practice your strategic and logical thinking with these cool math games!

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Cool Math Games - Free Online Games for Learning and Fun

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Coolmath Games is a brain-training site for everyone, where logic & thinking & math meets fun & games. These games have no violence, no empty action, just a lot of challenges that will make you forget you're getting a mental workout!

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Explore a multitude of topics through games.

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Scroll down on the home page for Brain Boosters!

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Virtual Animal Escape Room (early elementary)

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Virtual Animal Escape Room (early elementary)

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Solve puzzles to escape this virtual room!

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Fit these magic puzzle squares together, based on mathematical equations.

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There are affiliate links in many of the posts on this site. This means your purchase supports myself, my business, and my family when you click through to buy - at no additional cost to you. This site also uses cookies. Please see our full Disclosure & Privacy Policy for all details. Thank you!
I've had several people comment that they don't understand how to prepare and/or play Magic Square Puzzles. So this post is going to explain how to use Magic Square Puzzles. {You'll also have access to some great Magic Square freebies for grades K-6, so stick around!} Want to skip right to the video directions? Click here for the video version, or click here for the video with audio!

What are the Benefits of Magic Square Puzzles?

Before we get any further, it's important to know why Magic Square Puzzles are so beneficial, right? Here are all the reasons I love them!

Gives students a lesson in perseverance!

Keep students engaged through a fun, game format.

They're hands on.

Employ critical thinking

Use them with ALL students - GATE, special needs, RTI, Title I, ELL, and general education classrooms.

Use them in a variety of ways - small groups, individual work, partner projects, and more!

Include differentiated options so students at different levels can work on the same material.

These can be used for a variety of reasons:

Centers

Review

Early or fast finishers

Enrichment

Plus they're low prep so teachers can have them ready in no time - just print, cut, and go!

1. First choose which puzzle/s you want. Many of my products have 2-4 versions available to better help you differentiate.

2. Then print out how many copies you need. Many of the puzzles have color and black/white versions. {Sometimes I print just one of each puzzle, but other times I print one for each student to have their own. It depends if I am doing centers or using them as early and fast finishers work.}
I typically print my Magic Squares on cardstock. To store them, I take an entire set and put each individual puzzle in a snack size baggie. I then take that set of baggies and one original sheet {as an answer key} and put them in a manila folder. This way I can easily have them all stored and readily accessible to correct finished puzzles.

3. Get your puzzles all cut up into 4, 9, or 16 pieces - depending whether you are using a 2×2, 3×3, or 4×4 puzzle. If you want, keep the outside ring of the puzzle as "guide". This is one more way to make the puzzles easier for your students that need a little more direction. My 6th graders have done enough Magic Squares that they don't need the "guide". Even my 6-year-old niece completing a 3×3 {nine total squares} square was able to complete them without the "guide". It's more personal preference and student ability/comfort than anything.
Cutting can take a little while, depending on how many puzzles you are using. I've had students help me cut them and then put them together. I have not noticed them "cheating" by memorizing the order, but use your best judgment.

4. To play, give the students the cut up squares (16 for a 4×4 square, nine for a 3×3 square, or 4 for 2×2). Giving them the outside "guide" is also an option. Students will start to match the square together. Remind them that the pictures or words must be facing the correct direction! Typically I create my Magic Square Puzzles with pictures, but if you are differentiating with a puzzle without pictures - just tell your students to spread out their puzzle pieces.

I'm still not sure about this. Can you explain it again?

1. Lay all of the pieces (4, 9, or 16) out so you can see all of them.

2. Find two pieces that match.

3. Continue adding puzzle pieces, ensuring that they match each piece they are beside.

4. Repeat until the puzzle is done! =)

To easily check a student's completed work, keep an original copy of the magic square sheet they are working on. This way you can immediately check to see if the letters or graphics are in the correct order or not.

Here's a video I created while completing a Magic Square Puzzle. This was my first attempt at a video for my blog, so it's not the greatest. 🙂

If you're looking for a quicker visual, watch this video.

That's the basics on how to use Magic Square Puzzles. But not every student may be successful with them right away. Here are some more tips and tricks to help you get even more out of these great, engaging puzzles!

Remediation Ideas for Magic Square Puzzles

Some students may struggle with these, especially the first time they use them. However, here are some tips and tricks to help them be more successful. Watch the video or read on for all the remediation tips.

1. Use the puzzles without anything around the outside edges (if those were provided in the puzzle you purchased). I provide a variety of differentiation options when you download Magic Square Puzzles, so this will help your students by having less to work with. You can also give them the hint that the outside edges are "plain". It's sort of like putting together a regular puzzle. We know the outside edges are smooth and flat. In this case, the outside edges are plain with nothing on them. (If you choose that puzzle.)

2. Go through the puzzles as a class first. Show them how to complete the puzzle. Talk through what you are doing.

3. Allow them to work with a partner, particularly the first time or two.

4. Keep the outside border of the Magic Square Puzzle as a guide. This way they can see the outline of what the puzzle should look like. (I've noticed some students really struggle with the idea of it being a square.)

5. Mark the upper left square with a green dot. This is where a child would typically start reading, so they them this is their starting point.

6. If the puzzle is typically nine squares, give them just four to start with. If the puzzle is typically 16 squares, give the child just 9 to start with. Once they feel comfortable with that many, increase the amount.

7. Draw a border around the outside of the Magic Square Puzzle with a noticeable color. Tell the students this is the outline.

8. Mark the four corner squares so students know which ones they are.

9. Highlight matching sides so students can find the answers more quickly. (Highlighting about half the problems and leaving the other half plain would work!)

Extension Ideas for Magic Square Puzzles

Some students are going to complete the Magic Square Puzzle more quickly. These students may need additional activities to enrich their learning experience. Here are some ideas. Choose to watch the video or read more just below it.

1. Make sure to give these students Magic Square Puzzles with numbers or words around the outside edges. These puzzles are more challenging, so they will be great for your high fliers or GATE students.

2. Ask your students to glue their Magic Square Puzzle to paper. Then have them write problems (for math puzzles) to match the outside edges of the Magic Square Puzzle.

Even More Magic Square Puzzle Fun

If you have now fallen totally in love with Magic Squares, let me share a couple more sites where other teacher-bloggers have written reviews or other ideas to use Magic Squares.

This site shares how they turned Magic Square Puzzles into a magnet station for literacy centers!

Need yet another idea? How about using the Magic Square Puzzles as a file folder game? Simply put a little velcro inside of a file folder, and you have an immediate game you can use over and over with any set of Magic Square Puzzles! (This would be a great project for a parent volunteer in your classroom!)

There are two minor downsides to Magic Squares.

1. It can take awhile to cut out the Magic Square Puzzles if you are doing a lot of them. However, I typically recruit parent volunteers or students to help me out if I have a lot to cut. {The plus is that they last a LONG time, especially if you use cardstock and/or laminate them! So you can play them again and again!}

2. The first time students complete a Magic Square they might get confused and need a fair amount of assistance. I often draw an example the first time. I've also modeled one using an overhead so the entire class can see. Another option is to partner students up - two heads are better than one! However, just like anything that is done in the classroom, once students complete one Magic Square - they will catch on and be able to complete them much quicker the next time! Use theremediation tips above to give you more ideas.

Don't want students to see the full puzzle (which doubles as the answer key) before completing the puzzle? No worries!

Ask parent volunteers to cut out and prep the puzzles.

Have students from another class (or high school volunteers) prep for you.

Have students cut the puzzles out a week early. (They're forgetful!)

Give students a puzzle to cut out, but then have them complete a different puzzle by switching with a friend. Since many puzzles have multiple options or differentiated versions, this is an option for many of the puzzles.

Alright, it is FINALLY time for some freebies! I currently have over 10 free Magic Square puzzles in my TpT store. Click on the pictures below to check them out! Or click here to see all of the Magic Squares in my store! Interested in some money saving bundles? Click here.

The following holiday Magic Squares are also available for FREE:

I hope this post on how to use Magic Square Puzzles has been helpful. However, please leave any questions you may still have in the comments below. These are an activity I have loved using in grades K-6, although I've even heard from 7th and 8th grade teachers that their students enjoy them!

Make sure to grab these FREE Magic Square Puzzles by clicking on the images below for each one.

I'd love to hear what you think in the comments or via the feedback area on Teachers Pay Teachers!

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How to Use Magic Square Puzzles! | HoJo's Teaching Adventures

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There are affiliate links in many of the posts on this site. This means your purchase supports myself, my business, and my family when you click through to buy - at no additional cost to you. This site also uses cookies. Please see our full Disclosure & Privacy Policy for all details.

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Pick an activity to complete independently or with a partner.