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| Didax "Class Ideas" Newsletter Archive |
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School is back in session; we're all back into the swing of things. Let's relax and have some fun this month! This issue of Class Ideas is all about the latest craze, Sudoku. Who knew a puzzle could take over a country so quickly?
You'll find an article about the history of Sudoku and why it is a useful classroom tool. Of course, there's an email-only special, some free Unifix Sudoku games to download and try with your students, and some fun Internet links all about this simple yet brain-exercising puzzle.
Read on, have some fun and enjoy your fall!
Anna Mullen, Editor |
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| Sudoku: It's Hot, It's Fun, It's Educational? |
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 Almost everyone has heard of it and nearly everyone has played it. Sudoku is the latest puzzle craze raging throughout the United States. But where does it come from? It sounds Japanese, but is it? Is it just a way to pass the time, or are we learning something as we fill in those little squares? Here?s a little bit of background on this addictive game and why it?s a great classroom tool.
History: Where did this game come from?
Sudoku is a 9 by 9 grid, composed of nine smaller 3 by 3 subgrids. The digits 1 through 9 much each appear once in every colum, row and subgrid. A puzzle offers several given digits and from these, the player must figure out what the missing digits are.
It?s roots lie with Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler and his Latin Squares. They inspired the earliest known version, published around 1895 in a French newspaper. Nearly a century later, Sudoku as we know it was born, not in Japan, but in the US. A 74-year-old retired architect and freelance puzzle designer, Howard Garns, developed a puzzle called ?Number Place? which first appeared in Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games in 1979.
In 1984, Nikoli, a Japanese puzzle creating company, presented Dell?s Number Places in Japan. The game took off, becoming wildly popular and one of Japan?s best selling games. First named ?Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru,? meaning ?the numbers must be single,? the game was eventually shortened to Sudoku by Nikoli?s president.
Sudoku?s true global spread began in late 2004 when Wayne Gould, a retired judge from Hong Kong, convinced London?s The Times to publish Sudoku. He had written a computer program that generated puzzles at different levels. He provided these puzzles for free. The game took off and started appearing all around the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It was then that British teachers began to realize the value of Sudoku as a classroom tool. It has even been suggested that the puzzle can slow the progression of brain disorders like Alzheimer?s.
Then Sudoku came home to the US. Sudoku began appearing regularly in the New York Post in April 2005. On July 11, the country-wide spread began as USA Today and The Daily News both began running the puzzle. Now you can go almost anywhere, anytime and find a Sudoku puzzle to play?just look online, in newspapers and magazines, at the bookstore, and even on your cell phone. And Sudoku is evolving; new twists are cropping up, from alphabet, color and shape Sudoku games to simplified games featuring 4 by 4 and 6 by 6 grids.
Sudoku: What are we learning?
So, you?ve seen it, you?ve played it. You know you?re thinking, but what skills are actually being honed while figuring out what to put in each little square? There are lots of pencil puzzles that teach concrete math skills, but very few of these are an exercise in applied logic and reasoning. Sudoku is one of those few. It also works on critical thinking skills and mental agility.
In the application of their logic skills, students are also using both deductive and inductive reasoning to complete the puzzles. Deductive reasoning is the process of concluding that something must be true by applying a general rule you know to be fact. For instance, in Sudoku, if you know that each column must contain one each of the nine digits and one square remains blank in a column that is missing a 3, then the 3 must fit in that blank square. Inductive reasoning is the reverse of deductive reasoning and as students work backwards to fill in the puzzle, they figure out what could go in a blank square, not necessarily what must go in a blank square.
Students also gain confidence in completing challenging tasks as they tackle and finish Sudoku games. They work on their critical thinking skills and improve their mental agility as they develop their own strategies to complete the puzzles. Applying those strategies offers students a chance to test the effectiveness and accuracy of their plans.
These skills used to complete Sudoku puzzles all apply to mathematical problem solving. Students use logic, deductive and inductive reasoning, and application of known rules in their math work. Sudoku sharpens all of those skills while having fun. It?s a great way to disguise meaningful skill building as an in-class treat or fun homework assignment. |
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| Free Downloadable Unifix Sudoku Games |
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 Try Didax's twist on Sudoku in your classroom with these three free Unifix Sudoku games. They are perfect for teaching students in grades 2 through 8 how to play Sudoku; the Unifix color theme makes the game even more fun. These sample games come with cut-out cubes, in case you don't have any Unifix Cubes on hand. Download, print and play! |
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| Sudoku Internet Links |
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 Doing an Internet search for Sudoku will bring up a huge number of online resources, but here are a few we've found that are lots of fun. You can play games online at Sciencenewsforkids.org and Learningplanet.com and learn strategies for play at Sudoku-world.com and Fundoku.com (don't miss their free games). At the Sudoku World Championship site, you can download a great Official Instruction Booklet that shows many variations on the traditional puzzle. It's time to have some Sudoku fun online. |
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| November Newsletter Theme: Geometry |
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 Check out the next issue of Class Ideas for practical and interesting ways to strengthen your students' geometry skills. Look for a great article by Kathy Richardson, easy-to-use downloadable worksheets and links to Internet resources. |
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