Questions to ask your child while playing math games:
What did we learn from playing this game?
What strategy did you use while playing the game?
What would you do differently the next time you play?
Card Games
War
Materials:
a set of computation facts or flashcards
How to Play: (partners)
Each student turns over a fact and computes it. The student with the highest or lowest (decide before the game starts) gets to keep both cards. If the answers are the same then each player lays face down three cards and a fourth card face up. The players compute their answer and the student with the highest or lowest (decide before the game starts) gets to keep all of the cards. The winner is the one with all of the cards or the most cards when time is up. This game can also be played with three students. The person with the sum, difference or product in the middle wins.
Playing with cards: (face cards=10 and aces=1 or you can have the face cards be 11, 12 and 13)
Addition War or Multiplication War: turn 2 cards over and find sum. The person with the highest sum gets the cards
Subtraction War: turn 2 cards over and find difference (subtracting the smaller amount from the larger amount). The person with the lowest difference gets the cards
Combo War: turn 2 cards over and find sum. Turn a third card over and subtract from the sum of the two cards. The person with the lowest difference wins.
Place Value War: Turn 2, 3 or 4 cards over. Read the number or say the number in expanded form. The person with the lowest/highest number (decide before game) gets all the cards.
Salute
Place the deck of cards between two players. One player lifts a card to his/her forehead without looking at it and having it facing the other player. The other player turns a card over from the pile. He/she adds or multiplies the two numbers and states the sum or product. The player with the card up on his/her forehead needs to guess what the card is that he/she is holding. Now they trade jobs and repeat.
I’m Odd, You’re Even
Materials:
a deck of cards without the face cards
How to Play: (partners)
Deal all the cards to the two players. The dealer decides if he/she will be even or odd in the game. The other player turns a card over and announces if it is even or odd. Then the dealer turns a card over. If they are both even then the even player gets the cards, if they are both odd then the odd player gets the cards. If they do not match, each player turns over another card. When they match (both even or both odd), the player (even or odd, which ever the match is) takes all the cards in the middle.
Pyramid Solitaire
Materials:
deck of cards (take out the cards with a number value higher than the fact the student will practice)
How to Play: (individual)
Decide on a sum for the game. Make a pyramid with 15 or 21 cards (make sure that the cards with values more than your target sum have been removed). Look at the exposed cards on the bottom row. Remove any combination that equals the fact you are working on.
How Close Can You Get?
Materials:
deck of cards with face cards removed, 3 or 4 place value dice (1000s, 100s, 10s, 1s), or 3 or 4 regular dice
How to Play: (small group)
First decide if you are making numbers in the hundreds or thousands. Choose a player to be the dice roller for the round. The other players each draw 3 or 4 cards (determined in the beginning). The dice roller rolls the dice making a number. The other players try to arrange their cards to make a number that is as close to the rolled number as they can. The player closest gets a point. Play continues until a player gets 10 tallies or until time is up.
Numbers
Materials:
The below sheet of paper, deck of cards (no face cards)
How to Play: (partners)
One player turns over two cards and makes a number. He/she writes that number on the appropriate line. The next player does the same thing. The round ends when one of the players has a number written on each line.
Numbers Recording Sheet
Round 1
10-19 ____
20-29 ____
30-39 ____
40-49 ____
50-59 ____
60-69 ____
70-79 ____
80-89 ____
90-99 ____
Card Target
Materials:
Deck of cards without face cards
How to Play: (partners or small group)
Deal out four cards face down in a row in front of each player. Turn one card over in the middle. At the same time, each player turns his/her cards over to reveal the numbers. The object is to use those cards to reach the target by adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing. For older students, they need to figure out how to use all the cards to come to the target.
Dice Games
What Numbers Can You Make?
Materials:
4 dice or number cubes - for a more challenging game, 6 dice or number cubes
How to Play: (partners)
Each student rolls 2 or 3 dice or number cubes. They use the numbers rolled to make the greatest (two digit or three digit) number they can and then use the same numbers to make the least (two digit or three digit) number they can. They record the numbers on a piece of paper. Record a tally for each greatest and least number they have in each round.
Money Value
Materials:
play money (pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters), tens dice and a regular dice.
How to Play: (partners or small group)
A student rolls the tens dice and the regular dice. That student makes the amount using the coins. The other students try to make it a different way. The students take turns rolling the dice.
Snake Eyes
Materials:
2 dice, paper or a 100s chart and a pencil or crayons
How to Play: (partners)
The students take turns rolling the dice. On each turn, the student rolling rolls and adds the two dice together. The student continues rolling as long as they’d like. When done the student adds the amount they stopped at to their ongoing total. The object is to reach 100 first. However, if a 1 comes up on either dice during the turn, then the student loses all the points from that turn. If two ones show (snake eyes) then the student drops down to ZERO. The student who reaches 100 WINS!!!
Roll a Problem
Materials:
one dice or cube with numbers, paper and pencil
How to Play (individual)
Roll the dice and write the number down. Roll again and put that number down as the answer. Decide whether it should be an addition problem or a subtraction problem. Fill in the correct sign and second missing number.
Find the Page Number
Materials:
two dice (or tens place dice and a ones place dice), 1 dice or cube with the numbers 1 or 2 written on it, books with page numbers into the hundreds
How to Play: (three students)
One student rolls the two dice and the number cube. The number on the cube will be the digit in the hundreds place and the two dice will be arranged to be digits in the tens and in the ones place. When the number is made, the other two students race to find that page in their book. The first one to find it gets to roll and arrange the numbers for the next round.
Roll to a Sum
Materials:
two dice or cubes numbered 5-10, paper and pencil
How to Play: (partners or small group)
Each player writes a row of 6 numbers from 2-12 (if using dice) or from 10-20 (if using cubes numbered 5-10). Then a student rolls the two cubes or two dice. The students decide whether the two numbers have a sum that is written on their paper. If the sum is written on the paper, then the student writes the problem above it. The first student to have a problem above each sum, wins the round. This can also be played practicing subtraction, multiplication or division.
General Games
Twenty-one
Materials:
How to Play: (partners)
One person says a number (1 or 2) and another friend adds 1 or 2 to the number to try to get to 21. The first person to get to 21, without going over wins. You can play this game with any target number you’d like and have the students take turns adding 1, 2, or 3 to reach the number.
Number Paths
Materials:
four sets of number cards (0-9)
How to Play: (individual or partners)
Take four sets of the single digit number cards. Mix them up, upside down on the table. A student picks three numbers and makes the smallest number then picks 3 more numbers and tries to make another number that is larger than the last number etc. He/she picks up three more cards and tries to make a number that is larger than the last.
Number Tile Fun
Materials:
a set of 10 number tiles with digits 0-9 for each child
How to Play: (small group/whole class)
Tiles are used for quick practice. The students can keep the tiles in their desk.
Ideas for practice…Tens/ones, digits, doubles, measurements, sum is … (show me two addends), product is… (show me two factors), even/odd number, a number with an even number in the tens place and an odd number in the ones place, amounts of money, half of, etc. There are many ways to quickly use the tiles as a review of concepts.
Domino Fun
Materials:
dominos
How to Play: (small group/whole class)
Use the dominoes to practice skills just like the tiles were used in the above activity.
Three Addends Make 15
Materials:
Paper and pencil
How to Play: (partners)
Draw a tic-tac-toe board on a piece of paper. Write the even numbers on one side of the board and the odd numbers on the other. One person is even and the other is odd. The students take turns placing a number on the board. The object is to be the first person to make the sum of 15 across, down or diagonally. The game is a “cats” game if no one makes 15. The numbers can only be used once during each game. It’s helpful to cross out the number from the list after it has been used. Keep a tally of who wins.
Don’t be Last!
Materials:
ten or twenty counters
How to Play: (partners)
Arrange the counters on the table. The players take turns removing one or two counters. They are trying not to take the last one. Keep a tally of who wins.
What did we learn from playing this game?
What strategy did you use while playing the game?
What would you do differently the next time you play?
Card Games
War
Materials:
a set of computation facts or flashcards
How to Play: (partners)
Each student turns over a fact and computes it. The student with the highest or lowest (decide before the game starts) gets to keep both cards. If the answers are the same then each player lays face down three cards and a fourth card face up. The players compute their answer and the student with the highest or lowest (decide before the game starts) gets to keep all of the cards. The winner is the one with all of the cards or the most cards when time is up. This game can also be played with three students. The person with the sum, difference or product in the middle wins.
Playing with cards: (face cards=10 and aces=1 or you can have the face cards be 11, 12 and 13)
Addition War or Multiplication War: turn 2 cards over and find sum. The person with the highest sum gets the cards
Subtraction War: turn 2 cards over and find difference (subtracting the smaller amount from the larger amount). The person with the lowest difference gets the cards
Combo War: turn 2 cards over and find sum. Turn a third card over and subtract from the sum of the two cards. The person with the lowest difference wins.
Place Value War: Turn 2, 3 or 4 cards over. Read the number or say the number in expanded form. The person with the lowest/highest number (decide before game) gets all the cards.
Salute
Place the deck of cards between two players. One player lifts a card to his/her forehead without looking at it and having it facing the other player. The other player turns a card over from the pile. He/she adds or multiplies the two numbers and states the sum or product. The player with the card up on his/her forehead needs to guess what the card is that he/she is holding. Now they trade jobs and repeat.
I’m Odd, You’re Even
Materials:
a deck of cards without the face cards
How to Play: (partners)
Deal all the cards to the two players. The dealer decides if he/she will be even or odd in the game. The other player turns a card over and announces if it is even or odd. Then the dealer turns a card over. If they are both even then the even player gets the cards, if they are both odd then the odd player gets the cards. If they do not match, each player turns over another card. When they match (both even or both odd), the player (even or odd, which ever the match is) takes all the cards in the middle.
Pyramid Solitaire
Materials:
deck of cards (take out the cards with a number value higher than the fact the student will practice)
How to Play: (individual)
Decide on a sum for the game. Make a pyramid with 15 or 21 cards (make sure that the cards with values more than your target sum have been removed). Look at the exposed cards on the bottom row. Remove any combination that equals the fact you are working on.
How Close Can You Get?
Materials:
deck of cards with face cards removed, 3 or 4 place value dice (1000s, 100s, 10s, 1s), or 3 or 4 regular dice
How to Play: (small group)
First decide if you are making numbers in the hundreds or thousands. Choose a player to be the dice roller for the round. The other players each draw 3 or 4 cards (determined in the beginning). The dice roller rolls the dice making a number. The other players try to arrange their cards to make a number that is as close to the rolled number as they can. The player closest gets a point. Play continues until a player gets 10 tallies or until time is up.
Numbers
Materials:
The below sheet of paper, deck of cards (no face cards)
How to Play: (partners)
One player turns over two cards and makes a number. He/she writes that number on the appropriate line. The next player does the same thing. The round ends when one of the players has a number written on each line.
Numbers Recording Sheet
Round 1
10-19 ____
20-29 ____
30-39 ____
40-49 ____
50-59 ____
60-69 ____
70-79 ____
80-89 ____
90-99 ____
Card Target
Materials:
Deck of cards without face cards
How to Play: (partners or small group)
Deal out four cards face down in a row in front of each player. Turn one card over in the middle. At the same time, each player turns his/her cards over to reveal the numbers. The object is to use those cards to reach the target by adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing. For older students, they need to figure out how to use all the cards to come to the target.
Dice Games
What Numbers Can You Make?
Materials:
4 dice or number cubes - for a more challenging game, 6 dice or number cubes
How to Play: (partners)
Each student rolls 2 or 3 dice or number cubes. They use the numbers rolled to make the greatest (two digit or three digit) number they can and then use the same numbers to make the least (two digit or three digit) number they can. They record the numbers on a piece of paper. Record a tally for each greatest and least number they have in each round.
Money Value
Materials:
play money (pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters), tens dice and a regular dice.
How to Play: (partners or small group)
A student rolls the tens dice and the regular dice. That student makes the amount using the coins. The other students try to make it a different way. The students take turns rolling the dice.
Snake Eyes
Materials:
2 dice, paper or a 100s chart and a pencil or crayons
How to Play: (partners)
The students take turns rolling the dice. On each turn, the student rolling rolls and adds the two dice together. The student continues rolling as long as they’d like. When done the student adds the amount they stopped at to their ongoing total. The object is to reach 100 first. However, if a 1 comes up on either dice during the turn, then the student loses all the points from that turn. If two ones show (snake eyes) then the student drops down to ZERO. The student who reaches 100 WINS!!!
Roll a Problem
Materials:
one dice or cube with numbers, paper and pencil
How to Play (individual)
Roll the dice and write the number down. Roll again and put that number down as the answer. Decide whether it should be an addition problem or a subtraction problem. Fill in the correct sign and second missing number.
Find the Page Number
Materials:
two dice (or tens place dice and a ones place dice), 1 dice or cube with the numbers 1 or 2 written on it, books with page numbers into the hundreds
How to Play: (three students)
One student rolls the two dice and the number cube. The number on the cube will be the digit in the hundreds place and the two dice will be arranged to be digits in the tens and in the ones place. When the number is made, the other two students race to find that page in their book. The first one to find it gets to roll and arrange the numbers for the next round.
Roll to a Sum
Materials:
two dice or cubes numbered 5-10, paper and pencil
How to Play: (partners or small group)
Each player writes a row of 6 numbers from 2-12 (if using dice) or from 10-20 (if using cubes numbered 5-10). Then a student rolls the two cubes or two dice. The students decide whether the two numbers have a sum that is written on their paper. If the sum is written on the paper, then the student writes the problem above it. The first student to have a problem above each sum, wins the round. This can also be played practicing subtraction, multiplication or division.
General Games
Twenty-one
Materials:
How to Play: (partners)
One person says a number (1 or 2) and another friend adds 1 or 2 to the number to try to get to 21. The first person to get to 21, without going over wins. You can play this game with any target number you’d like and have the students take turns adding 1, 2, or 3 to reach the number.
Number Paths
Materials:
four sets of number cards (0-9)
How to Play: (individual or partners)
Take four sets of the single digit number cards. Mix them up, upside down on the table. A student picks three numbers and makes the smallest number then picks 3 more numbers and tries to make another number that is larger than the last number etc. He/she picks up three more cards and tries to make a number that is larger than the last.
Number Tile Fun
Materials:
a set of 10 number tiles with digits 0-9 for each child
How to Play: (small group/whole class)
Tiles are used for quick practice. The students can keep the tiles in their desk.
Ideas for practice…Tens/ones, digits, doubles, measurements, sum is … (show me two addends), product is… (show me two factors), even/odd number, a number with an even number in the tens place and an odd number in the ones place, amounts of money, half of, etc. There are many ways to quickly use the tiles as a review of concepts.
Domino Fun
Materials:
dominos
How to Play: (small group/whole class)
Use the dominoes to practice skills just like the tiles were used in the above activity.
Three Addends Make 15
Materials:
Paper and pencil
How to Play: (partners)
Draw a tic-tac-toe board on a piece of paper. Write the even numbers on one side of the board and the odd numbers on the other. One person is even and the other is odd. The students take turns placing a number on the board. The object is to be the first person to make the sum of 15 across, down or diagonally. The game is a “cats” game if no one makes 15. The numbers can only be used once during each game. It’s helpful to cross out the number from the list after it has been used. Keep a tally of who wins.
Don’t be Last!
Materials:
ten or twenty counters
How to Play: (partners)
Arrange the counters on the table. The players take turns removing one or two counters. They are trying not to take the last one. Keep a tally of who wins.