Download Grade 7: Math and literacy through (board) games

Grade 7: Math and literacy through (board) games
Games are a great way to learn valuable life lessons and skills. Much as swordsman of old would
practice with a waster (wooden sword), today children of all ages can practice with games.
Engagement and subtly are key to this Counting On You class. Students are so focused on
learning and winning the games that they do not realize they are practising both math and
literacy, as well as valuable social skills.
Through board games such as Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan students use mathematical
processes such as problem solving, reasoning and proving, reflecting, selecting tools and
computational strategies, connecting, representing, communicating. Whether it’s calculating the
odds of a role, ratio of a trade, or the tally at the end of a game, multiple strands and expectations
of the curriculum are addressed.
Students also develop the skills to be a successful language learner: communicate effectively and
with confidence; make meaningful connections between themselves, what they encounter in
texts, and the world around them; think critically; understand that all texts advance a particular
point of view that must be recognized, questioned, assessed, and evaluated; appreciate the
cultural impact and aesthetic power of texts; use language to interact and connect with
individuals and communities, for personal growth, and for active participation as world citizens.
Playing a game is much more that the act of playing it. Learning the rules and strategies of a new
and unfamiliar game is sometimes a daunting task which all require, knowledge, understanding
and application .
Other subject areas also put context into real life while playing such as: History, the settlement of
a new land; Social Studies control of resource; or Geography, planning a route from Toronto to
Duluth.
Most importantly, students develop social skills through sportsmanship by helping everyone to
be successful, sharing strategies and advice, as well as playing more for the enjoyment than the
competition.
This term, the board game club section began with Ticket to Ride, where players must complete
routes to and from various map points by collecting the appropriate cards and avoiding other
players. Then students moved onto Crossword and Sudoku puzzles, and looked closely at the
strategies involved in solving them efficiently. These puzzles gave the students the means to pick
up a news paper anywhere in the world and be entertained. Next, students tried out Settlers of
Catan, a game of resources, trading, building, and expansion. Settlers requires many different
literacy and numeracy skills in order to be successful. In the future, the program will expand to
similar games like Carcassone and classics like Cribbage.