Elections/Iowa Caucuses/Voting/Politics - Critical Thinking Grid Logic Puzzle

Here’s a great critical-thinking lesson that aligns with a lesson about voting or politics.

The main product is the grid logic puzzle.  The coloring page is just a bonus!  

This is great for a stand-alone sub plan and/or when you need a little problem-solving padding before your next big lesson.   Not sure how logic puzzles work?  See the last section in this description.

My students really get into solving these puzzles.  You can have them work individually or cooperatively.  In groups, it's great to hear kids explain how they "figured out" one of the answers.  You will hear lots of "AH-HA!!"s

My 7th graders found this to be of average difficulty. But there is a very easy way to allow every student grade 6 and above to experience success.

If kids feel frustrated, I would let them come up, tell me the quadrant they wanted a hint in, and then I would reveal one answer for them.  Repeat this process as needed.  This made EVERY student feel confident in being able to solve the puzzle.  

Another option, if you really want to use this puzzle but you think they're too difficult for most of your students, just fill in several answers  before making copies to give your students a head start!! 

HOW DO GRID LOGIC PUZZLES WORK?   (Include this description in your sub plans)

A grid-based logic puzzle can seem daunting if you've never solved one before, but don't get discouraged - once you learn a few basic rules you'll be on your way to completing your first grid in no time.  It's all about the process of elimination.

Each logic puzzle consists of a list of clues and a grid.  The grid will display a certain number of categories and a certain number of items per category. Every item is matched to one, and only one, other item in each category, and no two items in a category will ever be matched to the same item in another category.

Your goal is to figure out each item's matches using just the clues given, pure logical deduction, and the process of elimination.