Imagine two students playing a fraction game with cards. They are laughing, quietly engaging in conversation about which model shows a greater fraction. They are quietly working through magnitude of number. Nobody handed them a worksheet. Yet they are deep in some of the most important mathematics of the elementary years.
That is the power of game play. Here is why games deserve a regular place in your math classroom, and how they can build both multiplicative and fractional reasoning.
Games offer great value in building conceptual understanding while also offering: relaxed curiosity, engagement, strategy development, and SEL reinforcement. When students are relaxed, they take risks. When they are engaged, they play again and again. And when the rules invite choices, students start to build strategies and talk about them, all while practicing taking turns, handling wins and losses, and working with a partner.
Multiplication and Division
Several big idea skills and concepts can be reinforced through multiplication and division game play:
Multiplication Games to Try:
Loop It and Group It
Loop It and Group It (Español)
Focus: multiplying two one-digit numbers.
Two players roll two dice. Each student chooses which number is the number of loops (groups) and which is the number of objects in each group, builds or draws the model, and finds the product. After five turns each, players add their products, and the largest sum wins. The choice is the heart of the game: students must think about which arrangement is the better one.
Area Cover Up
Area Cover Up (Español)
Focus: area and multiplying dimensions on a 10 × 10 grid.
Players take turns rolling two dice to make a multiplication expression. They draw the area of their multiplication expression on a 10 x 10 grid paper. Taking turns rolling the dice and drawing the area, the goal of the game is to cover the entire 10 x 10 grid.
Focus: connecting multiplication models, expressions, and products
Players have a choice between 4 decks of multiplication cards allowing teachers/students to “target” certain math facts. Players take turns choosing new cards (either from the deck or from their opponent) to find “multiplication twins,” cards that are equivalent to each other.
Fractions
Fractions are important standards in third and fourth grade, yet they do not appear on the High Leverage Concepts until fifth grade. Why? Because the earlier years are about building the foundation around magnitude of number, equipartitioning, and equivalence. Students need access to the different model types to make connections between representations. Each model shares some attributes with the others and differs in others, so students need many chances to compare them. Games provide these opportunities.
Fraction Games to Try:
Trash Can – Fractions
Trash Can - Fractions (Español)
Focus: comparing fractions with different numerators and denominators, and recognizing that comparisons are valid only when both fractions refer to the same whole. This prepares students for the Grade 5 HLC of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing with fractions.
Players roll a die and each privately decides whether the digit becomes the numerator, the denominator, or goes into one of two trash cans. Once placed, a digit cannot move. After four rolls, players compare their fractions, then record a representation and a comparison statement. For example, you might see students writing and explaining why.
Fractions Go Fish
Fractions Go Fish (Español)
Focus: recognizing equivalent fractions and finding matching fraction models.
Players choose the appropriate deck of fraction cards based on readiness. Five cards are dealt to each player. Players take turns playing, “Go Fish” asking for equivalent fractions. Example: "Do you have a fraction that is equivalent to one half?" Play continues until the cards run out and all cards have been matched.
Race to One
Race to One (Español)
Focus: counting by tenths and hundredths to reach 1.00.
On each turn, a player rolls a die and decides whether that number represents tenths or hundredths, then moves a chip that far along the board and records the result. If a player cannot complete the count, the turn is lost. For instance, a player on 0.98 who rolls a 5 loses the turn. This game is based on Get to One or One-Tenth from Well Played (3-6) by Linda Dacey, Karen Gartland & Jayne Bamford Lynch.
The best games are those that involve some level of luck along with strategy. These are often the most engaging games but also the games that push students to move their understanding forward.
Questions to Think About as you Choose Games
Questions to Ask as your Students Play Games
Games are not a reward for finishing the “real” math. They are a place where students make choices, test strategies, compare representations, and talk about their thinking. Pick one game this week, watch and listen to your students, and notice what they reveal about their reasoning.
Math Games as a Tool for Learning — Games are more than a reward for early finishers. This post explains how they build understanding and math talk for every student. Read it to see why games belong in your math block.
All Learners Network is committed to supporting pedagogy so that all students can access quality math instruction. We do this through our online platform, free resources, events, and embedded professional development. Learn more about how we work with schools and districts here.