The Mystery of the Missing Numbers
You are a young detective helping your teacher find missing numbers in the school library. Your choices will determine whether you solve the puzzle and save the school's math competition.
A free Story Adventure for Young learners at CEFR A2 level. Topic: math.
Story
- You are in the school library. Your teacher, Mrs. Chen, looks worried. She tells you that numbers are missing from the math competition posters. The competition is tomorrow! Mrs. Chen asks, 'Can you help me find them?' You say yes. Where do you look first?
- You walk to the big poster by the door. You see it says: 'Math Competition: 2 + 3 = __, 10 - 5 = __, 4 + 4 = __'. Three answers are missing! You notice something strange. There are pencil marks on the floor near the poster. They look like they go toward the art room.
- You go to the math bookshelf. You find a notebook under a book about numbers. Inside, you see drawings of shapes: circles, squares, and triangles. There is a note that says 'Look for the shape room'. You remember the geometry classroom is down the hall!
- You ask your friends about the missing numbers. Your friend Tom says, 'I saw someone near the art room with paper and pencils this morning.' Your friend Sara says, 'Maybe it is a game! Maybe someone hid the numbers for fun.' You are not sure which idea is correct.
- You enter the art room. You see colorful papers, paints, and pencils everywhere. On a table, you find a piece of paper with numbers written on it: 5, 5, 8. These are the missing answers! But there is also a note that says 'Can you count the shapes on the wall?' You see many shapes painted on the…
- You sit down and solve the math problems on your paper. 2 + 3 = 5. 10 - 5 = 5. 4 + 4 = 8. You write down the answers carefully. But you still do not know where the real answers are! You need to find the original numbers that are missing. You decide to look for more clues.
- You go to the geometry classroom. It is empty. On the whiteboard, you see more shapes drawn with numbers inside them. Circle = 5, Square = 5, Triangle = 8. You understand now! The shapes represent the missing numbers. You feel excited because you are close to solving the mystery!
- You run to find Mrs. Chen and show her the notebook. She smiles and says, 'Good work! This is a clue. Let me help you.' Together, you look at the shapes in the notebook. Mrs. Chen tells you that the shapes are a puzzle. She says, 'The shapes hide the numbers. Can you count them?'
Vocabulary
- missing
- numbers
- competition
- posters
- worried
- answers
- pencil marks
- art room
- notebook
- shapes
- circles
- squares
- triangles
- geometry
- friends
- morning
- paper
- pencils
- game
- hid
- paints
- count
- painted
- solve
- problems
- write
- original
- whiteboard
- represent
- mystery
- excited
- clue
- together
- puzzle
- hide
- carefully
- nothing
- sad
- remember
- follow
Printable worksheet
This Story Adventure comes with a free printable worksheet: 1 part for students to do after the game, and an answer key for the teacher. It prints at three levels (Support, Core and Challenge); this is the Core sheet. Sign in free to print the whole sheet.
What's on the worksheet
- Remember the story · Circle the right answer.
Part 1: Remember the story
Circle the right answer.
- How many answers are missing from the poster? a) Four b) One c) Three d) Two
- What do you find under the book? a) A number b) A pencil c) A poster d) A notebook
- Where did Tom see someone with paper and pencils? a) In the library b) Near the art room c) At the poster d) In the classroom