Why Math Games?

When I first started utilizing math games (as part of the Investigations Math Curriculum), I was rather skeptical about their efficacy.  For one, it was hard to tell if my kiddos were really doing any math while they were playing with dice and cards.  Secondly, even if they were doing math, they weren't producing any "evidence" that could be checked or graded so I couldn't know if they were correct.

As I learned more about how to instruct students to communicate while playing math games, I became more confident that my kiddos were actually doing math.  I also found ways to have them record their responses, like keeping score in other games, so I could confirm that they had done the math correctly.  In addition, I became more adept in matching students to partners who could provide appropriate challenge and support while playing together.

Nevertheless, I wasn't really convinced that all math classes should include math games until I switched to a school that did not use games at all.  I was initially looking forward to trying a direct-instruction approach to teaching math. I expected that my students would be better able to comprehend difficult concepts like "counting on" when they were explicitly taught.  I also thought that management during a direct-instruction lesson would be easier.

Here's what I realized... math is challenging no matter how it is taught and, just like other skills, like reading or riding a bike, kiddos need to have lots practice doing math to really get it.  After I taught a direct-instruction lesson, I noticed that my kiddos would solve a few problems and then get bored and tired. Management became more difficult when they felt overwhelmed by a packet of worksheets.

Despite the direct instruction approach my new school was using, I started introducing a few math games to my first graders.  I realized that there were many other benefits to math games that I'd previously taken for granted. Specifically, math games are fun!  Teaching a lesson on how to "count on" was only one part of having students understand and be able to use this strategy.  Playing math games, like "Roll and Record" with a number cube and a dot cube, gave my kiddos sufficient practice thinking of a number and counting up the dots in a fun way. Unlike simply completing more worksheets, math games also provided just enough variation to keep kiddos actively thinking about the new strategy they were using.

I'm now back at my previous school, teaching a new grade, and learning new math games.  Recently, two of my kiddos came over in the middle of a debate about a math game I'd just taught them -- a decimal version of the card game War.  One kiddo said that his card (0.81) had won and the other disagreed (he had 0.9).  As I listened to each of them explain his side, I heard them using the math language I'd taught them: hundredths, tenths, decimal, and equivalent.  Before I even had a chance to weigh in, the kiddo who had insisted he'd won said, "Oh yeah! You're right: 0.9 is greater! Okay, let's keep going!" and off they went to keep playing!  I feel confident that conversations like this, where kids are teaching each other and having new realizations, would not have surfaced had they been working independently to solve the same problem on a worksheet.

Finally Spring!

It's finally starting to feel like Spring in DC!  It's been a long winter, which has meant a lot of indoor recess.  Indoor recess is rarely ideal (kiddos need to get out of the classroom and run), but when it's freezing or raining, indoor recess is the perfect opportunity to break out some of my favorite games.

Set: This game has been a favorite in my family for years.  The object of the game is to find 3 cards that make a "set," which either means they have something that is in common across all of them or have nothing in common across all of them.  It's challenging, but so fun!

Scrabble: This game can tough for first graders who don't have very large vocabularies, but it's actually great for practicing sight words and phonics. We allow "invented spelling" so the kids can build words with the sounds they know.  An added bonus is that keeping-score is perfect for practicing multiple-addend addition (i.e. 5 + 6 + 3 + 4)

Checkers: A classic.  Most of the kiddos know how to play this game since it's so easy to learn.  They can set it up and manage it all by themselves which is helpful for me.  We have lots of extra pieces because inevitably a few get swept up or slide under a shelf every time we take it out.

Chess: My little brother could beat me at this game when he was 4 (and I was 20), but I still enjoy it. I typically have a few kiddos who already know how to play, and I put them in charge of teaching the others.  I'm always impressed by how they can remember all of the rules for each piece.  I'm not sure the kiddos ever get through a whole game after all of the explaining, but they still seem to have fun.  

* I didn't receive any compensation for these endorsements.  These are genuinely my favorite games and the best way to keep everyone sane during the endless weeks of indoor recess. -- Sarah :)