This math game is exactly what the teacher wants:
1. Fun
2. Effective
3. Easy
4. Free
The purpose of the game is to help your students learn their math facts fluently. I always start my 2nd graders out memorizing their doubles (sums to 20) with this game and then it morphs easily into doubles plus one facts, and then onto the real toughies (7+9, 8+6, etc.).
Directions:
1. Use masking tape to make a 3×4 box with the sums of problems you want them to memorize. This picture above shows the students working on their doubles facts.
2. Make a set of flashcards with the problems you want them to practice.
3. All students should sit in a line around the box (not shown here because of privacy issues).
4. Choose two students to be “it”. They stand on the number 0.
5. Call out a math fact. The students hop to the correct answer.
6. The first student to hop to the fact with their feet completely within in the lines stays in. The other student sits back down in exactly their same place. Keep it light-hearted and take away the competitive nature. To do this, I emphasize how much luck plays into it (i.e. “ooh, you had good luck being right by the six”).
6. Then the next student in line is in against the last round’s winner. Luck really does take a big part of this and you will see that one student will rarely last more than three rounds before someone else bumps them out.
7. We play this as a group for a few days. After that, I leave the cards and box out and let the students play if they ever have a free moment in class. After a while, I change the numbers to more challenging problems. I have had my “game board” set up since September and they STILL are going crazy to play!
This game can be set up and implemented ANY time of year! Have fun!
