Edupress Mathological Liar, Grade 4

Fun for any middle school student.

There are 50 different "cases" in this pack, with 4 "suspect" cards for each case (200 cards in total). Each card has the case setup on one side of the card, and then the "alibi" of one of the 4 suspects for each case. The student is supposed to figure out which one of the suspects is lying, and therefore guilty of the alleged crime (mostly they are thefts). The lies are all mathematical. I have to admit, when I got the cards, I was underwhelmed, since it didn't seem like the alibis really had much to do with the cases, but my 7-year-old son really likes them. We carry the deck in the car, and he or I will randomly suggest we do one of the cases while we are driving somewhere. He takes all 4 of the case cards and tries to figure out the liar(s).Here is Case #1:"Pete wants to become famous for his new Plenty O'Pickles Pizza. He told his friends about it. He put up signs. He even asked the TV news people to come to his shop. But now Pete's pickles are gone! Which two people stole the pickles? How do you know?"Rita's statement: "I was helping the new girl learn how to fold the napkins in thirds. It's important that each of the 3 parts is the same size."Nick's: "Just because I own the pizza shop across the street doesn't mean I would steal from Pete. I was busy moving the tables in my shop. I put one half of the tables in the front room. I put the second half in the back room."Joe's: "I was busy with my nephews. Sal, Ray, Tom and Dan came in for a slice. I cut a pizza in fourths. I gave each of the boys a slice, and then I ate the last slice myself."Mary's: I only went into the kitchen because Pete asked me to. He wanted to show off how clean he keeps it. He tore a rag into fifths. I used each one of the pieces to check each section for dust. After I checked the stove, the shelf, the table, and the door, I ran out of pieces and left."(Joe and Mary are the liars.)Since I wasn't able to find this information on the creator's web site, here are the topics that are covered on the 2nd grade cards (it appears there are mostly 2 cases and 8 suspect scenarios per topic):Understanding Commonly used fractions (e.g., halves, thirds, fourths, fifths)Understanding Relative position of cardinal numbersUnderstanding Ordinal numbersComposing and decomposing whole numbersOdds and EvensAdding Whole NumbersSubtracting Whole NumbersComposing & decomposing Whole NumbersOdds & EvensAdding Whole NumbersSubtracting Whole NumbersFluency with basic number combinations: addition & subtractionUnderstanding situations that involve multiplication & division , such as equal groupingsAnalyzing PatternsSorting, Classifying and Ordering by Size, Number, and Other propertiesMeasuring with standing units: liquid volume (e.g, pints, cups, ounces)Measuring with standing units: lengthMeasuring with standing units: weightMeasuring with standing units: timeSelecting an appropriate tool for measuringRecognizing 2D and 3D shapesRecognizing geometric shapes in the environmentDiscussing events as likely or unlikelyRecognizing slides, flips and turns (geometric shapes)Describing quantitative changeUnderstanding commonly used fraction, more or lessUsing addition and subtraction to describe quantitative changeSelecting an appropriate nonstandard tool for measuringRecognizing the attributes of timeDeveloping a sense of whole numbers: relatingAdding & subtracting whole numbers

This game was a fun activity for my fifth graders to complete when they finished their assignments. It was a good way for them to build critical thinking skills and have fun! This activity has students read through a situation and solve for the suspect using their previously taught skills in math. I love that they range in complexity. It is a great way to spiral review!

Have you ever gone to a mystery dinner event? The sort where you go to a semi-fancy restaurant and actors act out a murder and the dinner guests have to guess Who Dunnit? And... it turns out that NONE of the clues would conclusively point at any one suspect and no amount of logic or the process of elimination could really predict who might be the guilty party -- and at the end, they sort of pull whoever the suspect is out of their hat, but they could have easily chosen literally *anyone* else because the clues don't even conclusively support anyone being guilty in particular? Okay... so if you have that image in mind -- that's a bit like this game. It's not bad per se... but we did get a little bored of trying to "solve" who was guilty on the basis of whether the guilty party was bad at math. I mean -- it's slightly better than the dinner-mystery schtick where it could literally be anyone! But for this game, the guilty culprit must be fantastically bad at math in order to be guilty. How guilt can be associated with being bad with numbers is something of its own mystery... but it's kinda fun, so long as you don't mind that strange absurdity of associating guilt with someone who is bad at math. We eventually donated this game to my youngest kiddo's classroom. It's better than rote memorization and the standard flash cards, but I wish the "mysteries" were more cleverly thought out rather than "Who dunnit" always being the one who was bad at maths.

I am a tutor and my students clamor for this game. It’s a painless way to review skills and identify which skills need reinforcement. They love it so much that I can actually use it as a reward at the end of our sessions!

Fun for students who need extra practice with word problems in a fun way with a game like twist. Even I like going through the scenarios with my students and finding the suspects. Would be a great idea for higher students to do as a filler activity when they finish ahead of everyone else.

I bought this for the smartest boy in the World, he has been accepted in messa, and he’s my grandson, I think it will make him smarter

My students loved playing this card game during our thinking tasks! Lots of fun🩷