Download Mathematical Games in the Classroom PD

Mathematical Games
Dan Finkel & Katherine Cook
Math for Love
November 16, 2016
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Why use games in math class?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Skills practice
Motivation
Enjoyment
Deeper questions of strategy
Play is the engine of learning
How should you use games?
1. Warmup/Closing Games — teacher led, short in scope
Examples
Guess My Number, Target Number, Broken Calculator
2. Games for students to play against each other, either
at a station or with the whole class.
Examples
Nim, Dot 10 Memory, Pig, Blockout, Horseshoes
What Qualities Make a Great Math Game?
1. Has a choice for the student to make. (Top It may be ok with very young kids, but it’s better
if there’s more to the game than “roll the dice, then add up your points.”)
2. Math is the engine of the game.
Games like Math Jeopardy, while popular, don’t meet
this bar.
3. It’s simple to learn and quick to play.
4. If a game connects visual representations to
symbols, like Blockout, then that’s a big win. Games
that use manipulatives are more likely to do this.
Penny - Nickel - Dime
I’ll roll the die 7 times. For every roll, you get to take that
many pennies, nickels, or dimes.
Whoever gets closest to $1 without going over wins.
Damult Dice
Players take turns rolling three dice.
After you roll, add two of your rolls together, and
multiply by the third. That is your score for the turn. by Dan Finkel & Katherine Cook
3rd & 4th Grade Math Curriculum
Summer Staircase
Play to 150.
Tips for Launching Games
1. Take student volunteers and demonstrate the game
2. Get playing as quickly as possible
3. Have differentiation ideas ready (i.e., add quarters, use larger dice)
4. Don’t play so long that the games become tiresome
Good topics to reinforce with games
K. Writing numbers, counting, comparing, making tens
1. Making tens, adding, subtracting within 20
2. Adding tens and ones, skip counting by 2s, 5s, 10s
3. Place value, multiplication
4. Place value, mixing operations (+, -, x, ÷)
5. Mixing operations, fractions
Where to find games
mathforlove.com
http://zenomath.org/toolbox/
mathpickle.com
Gamifying Lessons
Questions to ask yourself
1. Would this lesson be more fun/interesting/relevant as a
game?
2. What’s required? (It’s always easy to generate numbers
randomly using dice or cards)
3. Where’s the strategy or choice?
4. What would make the game fun?
The game doesn’t have to be wildly original. Varying existing games is a great way to create new ones.
Gamifying Lessons
Tips
1. Avoid time pressure as a game mechanism.
2. Make your game as simple as possible.
3. Let students make your rules better.
4. Play the game before you use it. Ask yourself if it’s
actually fun for you to play. (Be honest)
Taking it Deeper
Good questions to pursue with students:
1. Is there a strategy that helps you win this game?
2. What have you noticed about this game?
3. How could this game be made more challenging/better?