Uses Of Sudoku Puzzles For Kids In The Classroom
At first glance, sudoku puzzles may not appear to be an appropriate activity for kids, but they actually ARE a fascinating and enjoyable pastime for kids of all ages. Although it appears that highly developed math and logic skills are required to complete puzzles, in reality very little skill is required. Kids just have to be willing to learn the simple strategy, think creatively and give it a go.
Sudoku puzzles are a great activity to introduce to your students, no matter what their age or ability. The uses of these puzzles in the classroom is truly only limited by your imagination.
Sudoku puzzles are a brilliant activity which can be done individually or as a whole class group.
One way of using sudoku with the class as a whole is to project the puzzles onto a whiteboard and allow kids to offer answers one by one. This could also be done in small groups as a team building exercise.
Another great idea is to have a sudoku tournament within the class. Choose two children to begin with and have them stand at the front of the class either side of a sudoku puzzle, either projected onto a whiteboard or drawn onto a blackboard. Taking it in turns, each child is given 30 seconds to come up with the correct numeral for one empty space. If a child is unable to produce an answer, they sit down with the rest of the class and another student takes their place. The child who provides the most correct answers, in a row, for the day is the winner. This can be continued over many days or even weeks.
Sudoku puzzles can be given out individually to students to use as a time-filling activity for those awkward in between times of the day, or for when children finish the assigned work early.
When children come back to the classroom after lunch, give them ten minutes to work on sudoku puzzles as a way to calm them down after a playful and energetic break.
Save the dreary, boring homework for the weeknights and over the weekend assign a sudoku puzzle to be completed instead. Kids will still be learning and developing math and logic skills but will see the homework as an enjoyable exercise rather than a bore.
Sudoku puzzles are also very handy for those days it’s just too wet for kids to play outside during breaks. These puzzles will make indoor play time a breeze for you, and still enjoyable for the students.
Sudoku puzzles for kids are readily available online. Downloadable products are the easiest to use as they can be saved to your own computer and accessed when required. You can print one or two puzzles as at a time or print off a whole stack to have them ready to go when needed. Even better, is that puzzles can be printed back to back and in draft or gray-scale to reduce printing and environmental costs.
As previously mentioned the uses of sudoku puzzles in the classroom truly are limited only by the imagination. Be creative and encourage students to come up with their own ways of using sudoku puzzles.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/childhood-education-articles/uses-of-sudoku-puzzles-for-kids-in-the-classroom-2104288.html
About the Author
Brooke Watson uses Sudoku puzzles with kids to help them develop problem
solving skills, logical thinking and creativity while they have fun. She has
created a collection of sudoku number puzzles and word puzzles for children at