Skyscraper Puzzles

In February, blog post nearly a new-to-me logic puzzle called Skyscrapers. As shortly every bit I read the post, I *knew* I needed to purpose this puzzle inwards my classroom. I fifty-fifty sent my husband a link, gushing nearly how amazing these puzzles were!

The puzzles from the brainbashers.com website weren't quite the correct size to purpose amongst my linking cubes (affiliate link), together with hence I didn't purpose the puzzle amongst my students correct away.

Well, I procrastinated long plenty that Mark Chubb did the travel for me. He has posted PDFs on his website that incorporate ii skyscraper puzzles to a page that are the perfect size for linking cubes (affiliate link).

I printed off the four x four puzzles inwards a packet. Each grouping got a bundle of puzzles together with 50 linking cubes.

Next, I instructed my students that nosotros were edifice a metropolis total of skyscrapers.

See the numbers simply about the border of the puzzle? These numbers tell you lot how many skyscrapers you lot tin run across from that advantage point.

My students were VERY confused past times this at first! How inwards the footing could it hold out possible to run across 1 skyscraper from ane side together with iii skyscrapers from the other side? When they figured it out, their expressions were priceless!

Once my students got over their initial confusion, they were off!

I didn't actually acquire a 2nd of remainder because my grouping afterwards grouping afterwards grouping needed their solutions checked.

After my students caught on to how the puzzle worked, they were knocking out the puzzles quite quickly. I want I would convey printed off some of the bigger puzzles for this exact reason!

There was SO much skilful grouping travel together with conversations going on spell students were solving these puzzles.

It reminded me a lot of the activities I tried from Cohen's Designing Groupwork (affiliate link) at the initiatory of all of the schoolhouse year.

I knew this activeness was a winner when students stayed AFTER the bell rang together with hence I could cheque their latest solution.

When my students came to degree the side past times side day, they were devastated to acquire that nosotros would non hold out doing to a greater extent than skyscraper puzzles.

As nosotros started our activeness that day, students kept making remarks nearly how doing to a greater extent than skyscraper puzzles would hold out to a greater extent than fun.

It was together with hence fun to take away heed them part their theories nearly the best agency to translate the clues amongst their grouping mates. It's together with hence keen to overheard a pupil say excitedly, "Wait, I convey a theory!"

I convey successfully used these puzzles amongst students ranging from Math Concepts (a degree for ninth graders non nonetheless laid for Algebra 1) to Algebra 1 to Trigonometry. They all loved them!

For ane of my afternoon classes, I told the students that each grouping would ask to successfully consummate ii skyscraper puzzles to have their 10 participation points for the day. If they did to a greater extent than than this, I would laissez passer them a few extra credit points.

I wrote this formula on the board to help students calculate the points they had earned. This led to some awesome conversations. A grouping of students were trying to figure out how many points they would acquire if they stopped afterwards completing half dozen puzzles. Some of the grouping members insisted that they would acquire xviii points. Other grouping members were adamant that they would hold out getting 48 points. It turned into a keen large give-and-take nearly club of operations!