Two Favorite Math Games in Rotation

Beyond what we learn from our Singapore Math Books, we also take great pleasure in practicing skills by playing all sorts of games. Most of the time, these games also reflect broad themes, such as operation fluency, place value, number sense, logic, and so on. Here are a couple games that children in my math group are playing this week, after the books have been put away. You can play these at home, too!

GUESS/DIGIT/PLACE GAME

Skills: place value of numbers, critical thinking, logic

1) Teacher draws a chart on the chalkboard

Guess                   Digit       Place 

2) Write down a 3-digit number on a piece of paper so you don’t forget it.

Make sure all digits are different.

3) Student guesses a three-digit number. If student guesses either a correct

digit, but in the wrong place, or a correct digit in the correct place, the

teacher fills in the chart.

4) Play continues until students guess the right number. 

EXAMPLE: Let’s say secret number is 123

Guess               Digit     Place 

500                   0     0 (nothing correct)

462                   1     0 (there is a two, but it is in the wrong place)

192                    2   1 (only one of the correct digits was in the right place)

NAME THAT NUMBER

Skills: fluency of basic facts, flexible methods of computation, understand equivalent values

I have special decks of cards that go from 0 to 20, but you can certainly use a standard deck. Here are the directions: if they seem confusing and your child can't help you, see me and I'll teach you in a minute.

Materials: 4 cards each of numbers Ace-10, and 1 card of Jack (11), Queen (12) and King (13). If you have Jokers, they can be 0.

Number of Players: 2 - 4

A player shuffles the deck and places five cards face-up on the playing surface. This player leaves the rest of the deck facedown and then turns over and lays down the top card from the deck. The number on this card is the number to be named.

In turn, players try to (re)name the number on the set-apart top card by adding or subtracting (multiplying and/or dividing for those ready) the numbers on two or more of the five face-up cards.

In the above example, the card to be named is 6. The play can name this number by taking the 4 and the 2 card (adding), the 12 and the 2 card (dividing), or - to get three cards plus the target card - 10 + 4 - 8 = 6

A successful player takes the face-up cards used and the number-named top card. A successful player also replaces cards by drawing from the top of the facedown deck. Unsuccessful players lose their turns. But they turn over and lay down the top card from the facedown deck, and the number on this card becomes the new number to be named.

Play continues until all facedown cards have been turned over. The player who has taken the most cards at the end wins.