Math Games

The students have already been introduced to these games. You can play at home:

5, 10, 15, 20, 25!

Skill: Recognizing small set, counting by fives and ones.

Materials needed: 1 die, 50 linking cubes (Legos) or other counters

1. Take turns tossing the die. Collect that number of cubes.

2. When there are 5 cubes, connect them to form a group of 5. 

3. Before each toss, tell the total number of cubes so far.

4. The first player to 25 wins.

Variations:

* Play to 50 with two dice.

* Use pennies and nickels, trading each group of 5 pennies for a nickel.

All in a Row: 

Skill: Compare and order numbers from 1-10.

Materials needed to play: 1 deck of 1-10 cards (Or use Ace-9 from a standard deck of cards)

1. Mix up cards and place facedown.

2. When it is your turn, take a card. Place it face up in your line so the numbers are in order.

3. If you take a card that is already in line, discard it. Players may choose from the stack or the discard pile.

4. The first player to orders cards from 1-10 wins.

Variations:
* Order numbers backwards from 10-1

Neighbors (One More, One Less)

Skill: Recognize number neighbors; Recognize configurations to 9.

Materials needed to play: Set of cards (1-9 only)

1. Place cards facedown in a pile.

2. Take one card at a time and place it in a line face up between you and your partner. Take turns.

3. If that card is one more or one less than any card in line, take both cards. Before taking the cards tell the comparison: ___ is 1 more/less than ___

4. Game ends when all the cards in the stack are gone. The player with the most cards wins.

Variations:
*Use cards 1-5 only.
*Take card pairs that are 2 more or 2 less than each other.

Make the Sum

Skill: Count on to find sums.

Materials needed: Deck of cards, face cards removed

1. Mix up the cards and place facedown in a stack.

2. Take one card at a time and place it in a line face up between you and your partner. Take turns. Search the line for any cards with the designated sum. (Video shows Sum of 10)

3. Before taking the cards, tell the sum: ___ and ___ make ___

4. When there are no more sums for the designated sum, the player with the most cards wins.

Variations:

*Use cards 1-4 to find sums of 5.

*Add in cards to find higher sums.

*Advance to sums of 15 after working with sums of 5-10.

The students will be learning these games later this year:

Fill Up Ten and Then Again to 30

Skill: Count with one-to-one correspondence to 30; recognize small sets 1-6, group and count objects by fives and tens.

Materials: 1-6 die, 60 small counters or pennies, 6 ten frames (click HERE for printable ten frames)

1. Each player plays with 3 of the ten grids. 

2. Take turns tossing the cube. Place that number of counters on the grid.

3. Fill the grids from left to right. Start with the top row, then fill the bottom row from left to right.

4. Before each turn, tell how many counters you have (10, 20, 21, 22. I have 22)

4. The first player to fill all three grids wins. 

Variations:

*Use 2 grids and play to 20.

*Play with 5 ten grids to 50. Use 2 dice on each turn.

*Before each turn, tell how many counters you have and how many more to get to 30.

Take-Away Stories

Skill: Act out and tell take-away subtraction stories; record a subtraction sentence to match stories

Materials needed: Story game boards (pictures), 36 counters, die, paper for recording number sentences.

1. Take 3 game boards each and put 6 counters on each picture. 

2. Toss the die. Take that number away from the board and tell a story.

3. After telling a story, write a number sentence on the recording sheet.

4. After you and your partner each tell 3 stories, count the counters on your boards. The player with fewer counters win.

Variations:

*Choose a different number of counters (7-12) to place on each picture to start.

Coin Card Comparing

Skill: Identify pennies and nickels, count mixed coins by fives and ones, compare numbers to 10

Materials: Coin Comparing Cards

1. Place cards facedown in a stack.

2. You and your partner take a card from the stack. Compare the amounts.

3. If you have the greater amount, take both cards after telling the comparison. (8 cents is more than 5 cents)

4. If the amounts are the same, both tell the comparison and take your card.

5. When all cards have been used, the player with more cards win.

Variations:
*Compare the amounts. Tell the difference between them.

Double Draw Card Comparing

Skill: Adding sums to 8; Comparing quantities.

Materials needed: 1 deck of cards (1-4 only)

1. Mix up the cards and place them in a pile facedown.

2. Each player takes two cards.

3. Add the amounts on each card and tell the sum: ___ and ___ make ___

4. If you have the larger sum, tell the comparison, ___ is greater than ___, and take all four cards. 

(If the sums are equal, draw another card)

5. The winner is the player with more cards after all the cards have been used. 

Variations:

*Play with the entire deck (no face cards).

*Play taking one card only.

Win the Dominoes

Skill: Find missing parts when given the total and one part.

Materials needed: Blank dominoes, 2 sets of domino halves 0-6

1. Mix up the domino halves and place them facedown in a stack. Put blank dominoes in a row on the table.

2. Take one card and put it on an empty domino half of any domino. Take turns.

3. Try to make sums of 6. If the card taken cannot fit anywhere, place it in a discard pile. 

4. When the second card is placed on a domino to make a sum of 6, tell the sum to take the domino: ___ and ___ are 6.

5. When all the dominoes have been take the player with more dominoes wins.

Variations:

*Play with dominoes and compare the total number of dots.

*Play for other sums of 5-13

*Take turns tossing a die. Place this number of pennies on a blank domino half (index cards work well).

Coin Collector

Skill: Identify name and value of penny and nickel; count coins by fives and ones.

Materials needed: 15 pennies, 12 nickels, 1 die

1. Take turns tossing the die. Collect that amount in coins.

2. Before each toss tell the total amount of money you have. (5, 10, 11, 12, 13. I have 13 cents)

3. Trade 5 pennies for a nickel from the bank when you can.

4. The first player to collect 30 cents wins.

Variations:

*Use only pennies.

*Use 25 pennies and 10 dimes. When you collect 10 pennies, trade for a dime. The first player with 50 cents wins.

*Play with dimes, nickels and pennies. The first player with 30 cents wins.

Fill Up Tens to Take Away

Skill: Visualize combinations for sums to 10; practice subtraction facts to 10.

Materials: 5 Ten frames (click HERE for printable ten frames), 50 small counters or pennies, two dice.

1. Fill the 5 ten frames with counters.

2. Choose to roll either one or two dot cubes. After you roll, take away that total number of counters all from just one of the ten frames.

3. After taking away the counters, tell the take away sentence that goes with it (10 take away 7 leaves 3).

4. If the number tossed is greater than the counters left on any one of the ten grids, you lose your turn. 

5. If you clear a ten frame, you take it. The first player with 3 ten frames wins. 

Variations:

* Fill only 3 of the ten frames, and toss just one die.

*Record the subtraction sentences to go with the take away sentence. 

*Start with blank ten frames. Play to fill up the grids, telling addition sentences.

Take the Difference

Skill: Match one-to-one correspondence when comparing small quantities; compare to find a difference.

Materials: 15 pennies or 2 sided counters

1. Decide who will collect heads and who will collect tails. 

2. Start with 15 pennies. Take turns. Toss the pennies and sort them by heads and tails. Line them up in two rows, one-to-one, to see which row has more.

3. If you have more pennies, tell the difference between the two groups. (10 compared to 5 is 5 more) Then take that number of pennies.

4. Toss only the remaining pennies each time. 

5. Continue to play until all pennies have been taken. The player who has more pennies wins.

Variations: 

*Play with 10 pennies.

*Record each comparing subtraction number sentence: 10-5=5

Doubles and Doubles +1 Concentration

Skill: Recognize doubles (3+3) and doubles +1 (3+4) addition facts

Materials: Deck of cards 1-6 only

1. Mix up the cards. Place them face down in rows of 6.

2. Take turns choosing 2 cards and turning them face up.

3. If the cards show a double or a double +1, tell the addition number sentence (4 and 5 are 9) and keep the cards. Then your partner takes a turn.

4. If the cards do not show a double or a double +1, turn them face down and your turn is over.

5. When no more doubles or doubles +1 can be found, the player with more cards wins.

Variations:

*Search for doubles only.

*Play with all cards 1-10 searching for doubles and doubles +1.

Odd or Even?

Skill: Count on to find sums; Use counters to demonstrate odd or even; recognize small sets instantly.

Materials: Two dice, 12 counters, paper to record odd or even.

1. Decide who will be Odd and who will be Even. Write your name on the paper above either Odd or  Even.

2. Take turns rolling the dice and finding the sum. Group that number of counters into pairs to figure out if the total is odd or even. (They don't come out evenly. There's an extra one so 9 is odd).

3. If the pairs come out evenly, record the sum in the Even column. 

4. If there is a counter left over when the pairs are formed, record the sum in the Odd column.

5. The first player to record six numbers is the winner.

Variations:

*Toss one 1-6 die and one 4-9 die. Write the number sentence that goes with the roll.

Race for a Dollar

Skills: Count on to solve addition facts to 15; recognize and count dimes and pennies

Materials: 20 dimes, 30 pennies, 1 dollar, Race for a Dollar game boards (Make one by folding a paper in half and labeling the left side tens, the right side ones), 1-6 die, 4-9 die.

1. Each player uses one game board.

2. Take turns rolling the dice. Add the numbers out loud (6 and 2 are 8). Then put pennies or dimes and pennies equal to the sum on the board.

3. Trade 10 pennies for a dime whenever possible. 

4. Before each toss, tell how much money you have collected so far (I have 37 cents).

5. The first player to collect 10 dimes to trade for the dollar wins the game.

Variations:

*Play with two 1-6 dice.

*Before each toss tell how much money you have and how much you need to earn another dime.

High-Low

Skills: identify two-digit numbers; compare two-digit numbers

Materials: two 0-5 cubes, two 4-9 cubes, paper to record comparisons

1. Each player rolls one 0-5 cube and one 4-9 cube.

2. Try to make the greatest two-digit number with the two cubes.

3. Compare the numbers with the other player. If you have the greater number, tell the comparison (73 is greater than 54). Record the comparison.

4. The winner is the first player to record six comparisons.

Variations:

*Use two 1-6 dice each.

*Use three cubes and build three-digit numbers.

*Play to make the smaller number. If you have the smaller number, tell the comparison.

Lu Lu

Skills: Add two or more small sets without counting; group and count by tens and ones.

Materials: 4 counters (each with 1, 2, 3, or 4 dots on one side and none on the other side), 200 beans or other small counters, 20 cups

1. Take turns tossing the four counters.

2. If all the counters land face up, add all the dots out loud. (3 and 1 and 2 are 6 and 4 more are ten)

3. If some counters land facedown, add any dots you can see. Then pick up only the facedown counters. Toss the dots a second time. Add the dots to the first toss to get your score. 

4. At the end of your turn, collect the number of beans equal to your score. Group your beans into tens and ones. Place 10 into a cup when possible. 

5. Before each turn, tell how many you have in all. (I have 3 cups of ten and 4 extra ones, 34)

6. The first player to collect 10 cups, or 100, wins.

Variations:

*Play to 50.