The One with the Scavenger Hunt

Sometime last year I stumbled across a scavenger hunt on TPT.

It sounded fun so I decided to give it a try.

I loved it!

My students loved it!

It's a great way to help students review a concept.  They can check their work as they go.  If they can't find their answer then they know they made a mistake.

It gets students up and moving.

I am a fan of up and moving.  I heard in a workshop once that when we sit too long all of our blood puddles in our booty.  I LOVE that!  And my students always get a kick out of hearing it.

I always let my students work with a partner when we do a scavenger hunt.  I do this for two reasons.  One, it helps keep crowding at one card down to a minimum.  Two, it gives them that little bit of social interaction.

The day after or before a break is my favorite time to do scavenger hunts.  The kids are a little antsy and just aren't capable of sitting still in their desk.

You better believe we did one the first day back after Christmas break.  My students were so excited when they saw the cards hanging up around the room.  It was the perfect way to review those last few concepts we studied before the break.

There are lots of great scavenger hunts on TPT and I have bought a few since finding that first one.  I have even found a few that do a wonderful job of differentiating.  There are different colored cards for different levels.

I have also made a few for myself that cater more toward what I need.  

My students began studying integers before the Christmas break.  We use the Engage NY curriculum (anyone else?) and I wasn't able to find anything that was close to what I was looking for.

So I created my own Scavenger Hunt.

I chose to keep this one short and simple since it was our first day back after the break.  I wanted students to have plenty of time to finish the activity even if they had to spend several minutes with their IMN refreshing their memory.

I assign students a problem to start with it so that not everyone is at the same card.  If a group was going to start with card # one (pictured above) they would answer the question on that card, in this case "What is the opposite of 7?" .  Once they had their answer they would walk around the room looking for the card that has the answer (-7) on the bottom.  That would be the next problem they solve.

This year my students are bad about coming to me and asking  if their answer is correct.  My answer is always go look around the room again.  If you cannot find that answer then check your work.

Sometimes when my students are searching for the wrong answer which isn't in the room they will see the right answer and immediately know what mistake they made.  I LOVE that!  I believe they are more likely to remember if they discover and correct their mistakes without my pointing them out.

This scavenger hunt is now listed in my TPT store along with a few others I've made.

I'm looking to add more to my store.

What concepts would you like to see in a Scavenger Hunt?  Leave me a comment letting me know.  If I use your idea to make a Scavenger Hunt I will send you a free copy.