Thursday, March 3, 2011

Fun Homemade Math Games

I found a cool link today for a pizza math game.  This looks pretty easy, and I like the idea of using felt because it would be pretty durable!  I think you could change the rules to cover a lot of different math skills with this.  My mind immediately went to dividing the pizza up into 12 or 16 slices and then doing fractions with the toppings.  You could make a die with a wooden cube and put different fractions on it.  When they roll the fraction, they have to cover that fraction of the pizza with a topping.  Then, they could also name the equivalent fraction(s) to that section.  For example, if you had 16 slices and they rolled 1/4 they could talk about 2/8, 4/16, etc.
This post got me thinking about some other math games I made.  Here are some ideas...

  • Money Dominoes-use 3 x 5 cards and divide them in half like dominoes.  On one side, stamp, draw, or glue coins.  On the other side, write a money amount.  Play like regular dominoes.  What a great way to practice counting change!
  • Equivalent Fraction Concentration-Make cards with various fractions on them.  Be sure you have pairs of equivalent fractions.  Play like a typical memory/concentration game.  If the kids flip over a pair of equivalent fractions, they keep the pair!
  • Making Change Match Game-Make some cards with a dollar amount and a price on them.  Make other cards that show the change.  When it's their turn, they have to try to match the dollar/price card with the correct change.  You could easily play this as a "Go Fish" style game as well.  "I have $5.00-$2.25, who has $2.75?"
Those are just a few that come to mind.  None of them take too long to create, and if you laminate the cards you can use them over and over again!  All of these games are great ones to pull out when you have extra time at the end of math or after a test.  My kids were always begging to play games!

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