Games and Activities that Practice Math Skills Presented by Colleen Serencsits Tutors of Literacy in the Commonwealth Please take a handout and a plastic bag.

Games and Activities that Practice Math Skills Purpose of this Session To share and try games and activities that practice math skills

Games and Activities that Practice Math Skills Why? Make practice more interesting, relevant, fun. Why? Students are more likely to practice. Help students be more open to thinking about their choices, what they are doing and why they are making those choices. Break up the intensity of learning new information.

Games and Activities that Practice Math Skills Outline Games with Cardspage 1 Games with Dicepage 5 Other Gamespage 8 Commercial Gamespage 9 Activitiespage 11 Other Activities for Young Childrenpage 13 Trickspage 14 Additional Handoutspage 15 Resourcespage 25

Games and Activities that Practice Math Skills We will try several games, not in order from the handout. All the games and activities are described in the handout.

Games and Activities that Practice Math Skills Remember, Explain to the learner why you are playing the game or doing the activity. When you are interacting with learners, encourage thinking skills. Talk and ask questions: –Tell me why you made that choice. –What other moves could you have tried? –Tell/show me how you did that. –Think out loud to model your thoughts.

Games with Cards Tips for Holding Cards If someone has trouble holding the cards in a fan, try one of these tips. Turn a shoebox upside down. –Place cards in the lip of the upside down lid. Hold two plastic lids tightly together with a brass fastener in the center. –Place the cards between the lids.

Other Games Product Game (page 16) (cream game board provided) Player A puts a marker on a number in the factor list across the bottom. Player B puts a marker on any number in the factor list (including the same number marked by Player A) and then shades or covers the product of the two factors on the product grid. Player A moves either one of the paper clips to another number and then shades or covers the new product. The winner is the first player to mark four squares in a row -- up and down, across, or diagonally.

Product Game

Other Games Integer Product Game (page 17) (yellow game board) Player A puts a marker on a number in the factor list across the bottom. Player B puts a marker on any number in the factor list (including the same number marked by Player A) and then shades or covers the product of the two factors on the product grid. Player A moves either one of the paper clips to another number and then shades or covers the new product. The winner is the first player to mark four squares in a row -- up and down, across, or diagonally.

Factors:

Other Games Factor Game (p 15) (gray game board) Player A (blue) selects a number and colors it. Player B (green) colors all the proper factors of player A’s number. Player B selects a number and colors. Player A colors all the proper factors of player B’s number. Play continues until there are no numbers remaining with uncolored factors. The winner is the player with more numbers colored.

Other Games Vocabulary Match (page 10) (cream and/or green card) Cream cards have –math term on one side in red print –definition of a different term on the opposite side in black print Green cards have –Math problem on one side in black print –Answer to a different problem on the opposite side in red print

Other Games Vocabulary Match: to play green cards Hold the card to look at the red answer. First player reads black problem on her card. Player with the correct answer (in red) says the answer. That player then turns over her card, and reads the black problem on her card. Player with the correct answer says the answer. Continue until back to the first player.

Other Games Vocabulary Match: to play cream cards Hold the card to look at the red answer. First player reads black definition on his card. Player with the correct answer (in red) says the answer. That player then turns over his card, and reads the black problem on her card. Player with the correct answer says the answer. Continue until back to the first player.

Games with Dice Power Play (page 7) (scrap paper provided) Play with two dice. Goal is to make the largest total after a certain number of rounds (eight), or to a total (500). Player 1 rolls two dice. Make one numbers the base, and the other number the exponent, to make the larger number. Example: Roll 3 and = 81; 4 3 = 64 Player chooses 3 4. Record the score.

Games with Dice Dice Tic-Tac-Toe (page 7) (graph paper provided) The goal is to get three points in a row, column, or diagonal. Draw a graph with numbers 1 to 6 on x axis and 1 to 6 on y axis. Player A rolls two dice. Use those numbers to plot a point, choosing in which order to plot them. Example: Roll 3 and 4. Plot them as (3,4) or (4,3). Players mark their points in different colors, or with circle or square around them to distinguish them. Two points may not be plotted at the same location.

Dice Games Dice Tic-Tac-Toe variation Draw a graph with numbers -6 to +6 on x axis and -6 to +6 on y axis. Player A rolls two dice and two coins. Heads is +, tails is - Use those numbers to plot a point, choosing in which order to plot them. Example: Roll 3 and 4, one head and one tail. Plot choices: (-3,4) (-4,3) (3, -4) (4, -3).

Games with Dice Fraction Dice Bingo (p7) (blue game board) Make a five by five gameboard. Mark the spaces with numbers from the choices listed in the handout. Player A rolls two dice. Use the numbers rolled to make a proper or improper fraction. Cover that fraction with a token. The goal is to get five in a row, column, or diagonal, or as previously decided.

Fraction Dice Bingo 1/2 1/3 1/4 1/5 1/6 1 1/22 1/21 1/31 2/31 1/4 1 1/5 2/31 3/4 2/5 3/5 4/52 1/21 1/

Games with Dice Pizza Fractions Game (p7) (white game board) Play with two dice and the Pizza Fractions Game board. The goal of the game is to eat (cover) the most pizzas. Player A rolls two dice, and forms a fraction of the two numbers. He then colors that fraction of one of the pizzas on the game board. Example: Player roles 1 and 4. He colors one slice of a pizza that is cut into four slices. One player may color slices on more than one pizza. More than one player may color a slice in the same pizza. Play continues until all of the pizzas are labeled, or for a predetermined number of rounds.

Pizza Fractions Game

Games with Dice Contig (page 5) (cream game board provided) Roll three dice. Add, subtract, multiply and/or divide the three numbers to produce a number you can cover on the board. You score points by covering a number adjacent to a number already covered. (or play for four in a row)

Games with Cards Make 100 p4 (play with blue cards) Play with cards 1 to 9. Place the cards face down on the table. Player 1 draws four cards. He must arrange those cards in pairs, then add the pairs together to get as close to 100 as possible. For example, he draws 2, 4, 6, 8: = 92. Subtract 92 from 100 for a score of 8 that round. Return all cards face down. Play a predetermined number of rounds. The winner is the player with the lowest score.

Games with Cards Five Cards Make 10 (p4) (play with blue cards) Play with cards 1 to 9. Deal five cards face up. The goal is to use those cards to make as many equations as possible that total ten. Each card may be used one time per equation, but may be used in more than one equation. All five cards do not have to be used in each equation. Ex: dealt 4, 6, 7, 9, 1: 6 + 4; 9 + 1; – 6; – 4.

Activities Mobius Strip (page 11) Draw a line along length of strip of paper. Tape the 1 inch wide ends together to make a loop, but twist the ends before joining them. –Tape lined side to unlined side. Run your finger along the outside of strip. Cut along the line. Describe what results.

Activities Graph the Alphabet (page 11) Graph a letter, such as the initials of your name, or by starting simple, with the letter I. State a height for the letters, such as seven spaces on the graph paper. Choose the starting point, described by its coordinates, or let the learner choose. Then the learner decides where the other end of the I must be. Include instructions for which points should be connected.

Activities Graphing Designs Provide the design. The learner names the points. Practice N-S-E-W directions, by stating which direction each point is from the previous.

Graphing Designs

Games with Cards Fraction Rummy (page 5) (white cardstock cards) Goal is to form sets of any number of cards that add to 1. Deal each player five cards. Place the undealt cards face down. Turn top card face up in discard pile. Each player draws top card from discard pile or from deck, makes set if possible, then discards. Player may take cards from deeper in discard pile if he uses it right away.

Games with Cards Dealing Down (page 5) (yellow cards) Make twenty-five cards w/ numbers listed in HO. Deal four cards to center of the table, face up. Each player uses all four numbers to write an expression with the lowest possible quantity. Each player with the expression for the lowest quantity gets 1 point. Play for a set number of rounds.

Games with Cards Fraction Games (page 3) (white cardstock cards) Make a deck of 40 to 52 cards illustrating fractions, fractional shaded pictures, decimals, and percentages. Play Fraction War, Fraction Concentration, Fraction Lotto, Fraction Go Fish, Fraction Old Maid (have one 1). Play to match equivalents, not just identical matches. Have more than one fraction with the same value; example ½, 2/4, 4/8. Play to make 1 (fractions that add to 1).

Games with Dice Cross Off 16 (or whatever number you decide) Write the numbers from 1 to 16. The goal is to cross off all sixteen numbers. Player A rolls three dice. Do any combination of + - X  numbers on the dice to cross off one of the numbers that is not yet crossed off. The numbers from all three dice must be used. Play until a player has crossed off all numbers, or for a predetermined number of rounds.

Games with Dice Cross Off 10 Write the numbers from 1 to 10. The goal is to cross off all ten numbers. Player A rolls three dice. Choose one of the numbers as the divisor, and arrange the other two as the dividend. Example: roll 6, 4, 1. Arrange as 16/4 = 4; cross off the 4.

Games with Dice Place Value Draw three lines ( __ __ __ ). The goal is to make the largest number possible. Player A rolls one die. Writes that number in the units, tens, or hundreds place. The winner has the highest score, after one round or a predetermined number of rounds.

Games with Cards Addition Waror -, or x Add the two cards together. First player to say the correct total gets both cards. War- Each player starts with half the deck. Each player turns over the top card of her deck. The player with the higher card takes both. Goal is to capture all the cards.

Games with Cards Positive – Negative Number War (p 1) (gray cardstock cards) Black numbers are positive. Red numbers are negative. Play Addition (or Multiplication) War

Tricks Guess the Number Tell the person to choose two consecutive numbers between 1 and 10. Tell the person to square each number, then find the difference, then tell you that number. That number will be the sum of the two original numbers, which can only be two specific numbers. Tell the person the numbers. Ex: 4 and 5, 52 – 42 = 25 – 16 = 9, = 9

Commercial Games Yahtzee Make 7 Dominoes 24 Game Set Connect 4 Bingo Memory / Concentration Lotto Uno Smath Board Game Battleship Phase 10 Any game in which you roll dice and count spaces. –Sorry and Parcheesi give you choices about which pieces to move. Any game in which you count money. –The Allowance Game, Life and Monopoly are examples. Any others you would suggest?

Commercial Games Logic Puzzles to Practice Reasoning and Strategy Skills Sodoku Ken Logic Grid Puzzles Mastermind Checkers Chinese Checkers Cribbage Blokus Othello Pass the Pigs Pente Racko Rook Rummikub Six Cubes Tri-Ominoes Battleship

Resources Sources Used in Preparing This Presentation Websites with Activities Additional Activities TLC contact information is on page 1.

Conclusion What are the benefits of using games and activities to practice math skills?

Conclusion Increases curiosity and motivation Establishes a sense of community Creates a student-centered learning environment Reduces anxiety in the mathematics classroom Allows for cooperative learning opportunities Inherently differentiates learning Builds strategy and reasoning skills Reinforces mathematical objectives Engages individual learners simultaneously Teaches life skills NCTM

Thank you for attending. Please contact Tutors of Literacy with questions or suggestions. – – Please contact me for electronic copies of –the handout –game boards –cards