Math Memory Puzzles for EveryBody: Nines
Teach students to see the big picture and how numbers relate. Build memory math and quick arithmetic skills with Math Memory Puzzles: Nines. Reinforce Braille literacy, multiplication, and logic skills through the self-correcting experience of assembling a puzzle. The puzzle piece won’t fit if the math doesn’t add up! Puzzling is a positive way of practicing logic storytelling through patterns and numbers. Challenge students to work together to assemble the long, tabletop puzzle with minimal instructor oversight. Foster social emotional awareness through collaborative play.
Features
- 54 puzzle pieces
- Assembled: 9 in. x 36 in.
- For sighted & visually impaired learners ages 7+
- For Braille and English readers
- For tactile graphic learners
- Waterproof & easy to sanitize
Design for Everybody
- Waterjet cut black PVC material with high contrast colors meet A.D.A standards for low vision and blind users.
- U.E.B Braille and large print English text
- Tactile Braille indicators in upper right corners of each piece suggest vertical orientation.
- A tactile wavy line in the middle of each piece indicates the horizontal orientation.
- Unique puzzle piece fittings prevent false matches.
Instructions
- Sort by reading braille, large print or numbers
- Make three piles of pieces:
- Left column pieces are spelled-out numbers (yellow)
- Middle column pieces are multiplication (yellow)
- Right column pieces are answers (red)
- First assemble the left column border by matching pieces vertically from top to bottom: interlock pieces zero through seventeen.
- Next, build the puzzle horizontally by adding the middle column pieces starting with the top border: 0 x 9 and working top to bottom to assemble the middle column.
- Solve the multiplication problems! Continue building matching pieces (example: 0 x 9 = 0 or 17 x 9 = 153) Assemble the right border column with the correct answers to complete the lesson.
Concepts
Encourage students to look for the patterns first and then solve for the final answer. Move from rote memorization to logical derivation thinking. These puzzles are foundational to understanding math word problems. The “nines” concept is often taught as a logical shortcut. Multiplying by 9 is usually intimidating, but it’s helpful to remember that 9 is just ten minus one. Build number sense and reduce math anxiety by showing students that numbers are flexible tools.
About Puzzles for EveryBody™
The Puzzled Co. was started by Philip Einsohn, a former early-childhood educator turned Waterjet design expert. In 1977, Philip struggled to find educational puzzles that were inclusive of visually impaired students. He began crafting wood puzzles for his classroom and was one of the first to create braille puzzles for children. He jump-started The Puzzled Co. again in 2020. Using innovative technologies like Waterjet cutting and tactile printing, Philip realized his vision of inventing Puzzles for EveryBody™. These unique puzzles feature tactile clues creating a unique, sensory puzzling experience and learning resource for sighted and visually impaired players. All puzzles are cut and printed in-house by our family-run, Dallas-based, parent company Waterjet Works.