Math Resources
Math Practice Games
On this page you will find several different ways to practice.
I love this blog post from Games From Young Minds about three great questions to ask in any situation to encourage math discussion. These can be used with any of the following games.
With screens:
I-Ready Learning Games
Prodigy
Bedtime Math - This is only partially on a screen. On this site you can click the "Daily Math" button and there is a new question each day. Read the prompt together with family and then try answering the questions. They have leveled questions each day. This should only take about 5 minutes. (Ok, this one really isn't a game.)
Screen Free Math Practice:
1) Attribute Train
Math Skill: Recognizing attributes of shapes, classifying, sorting, patterns
How to: Have a group of objects (toys, anything in a certain room, anything in a junk drawer, etc.) and make a train (line) out of them, Pick one object to start the train then pick the next object. The next object must have something in common with the first one. Maybe it is the same shape or color or beyond (the choices are endless!). Keep building a train with a new attribute connecting each new item to the train. There is a great description including pictures and examples here.
2) Estimation Station
Math Skill: Estimation, subitizing, counting, and more depending on what you are estimating.
How to: This isn't fancy but can be made to fit SO MANY levels and skills. In three easy steps.
First, take an amount of something and look at it. Second, estimate how many are there. Ask how they came up with their guess. Third, figure out how much is there. You can do this with small number of items with small children. By second grade students can work toward larger groups. Use things around your home. How many rocks are in that flower pot? How many books on that shelf? How many socks in the laundry basket? In second grade, we also work on counting money. How much money is in the handful of coins?
3) Shopping Time
Math skill: money
How to: Set up a "store" using things from around your home. Is it a grocery store using your play kitchen? Is it a restaurant supply store with different kitchen items? Is it a clothes store with things from your closet? Whatever store you have, decide on prices and have people shop. Maybe your shop with play money (Try to stick with real denominations of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, $1, $5, $10, $20) or real money. practice giving correct amounts of money or even making change. people can switch roles of shopper and working in the store.
4) One Dollar Words
Math skill: two digit addition, adding more than two two-digit numbers
See how much words are worth when you you use the values at the attached link. (A = 1, B = 2,..... Z = 26) For example: Masotti would be 13 + 1 + 19 + 15 + 20 + 20 + 9 = 97 Masotti is worth $97 in this game. Find the values and a longer description here.
Games using a deck of cards:
A great way to practice at home is to use a deck of cards. We play some of these in class!
1) Salute
Math Skill: Addition fact fluency within 20.
Players: This is a three player game.
Resources: You will need a deck of card with the face cards removed.
How to play: One player is the captain and the other two are the players. Split the deck into two halves and give one to each player. The Captain says "Salute" and each player puts a card in front of their forehead without looking at it. The captain tells the players the sum of both numbers. The players look at the other person's card to figure out what the number on their own card is. The person who guesses it first wins both cards. At the end, the person with the most cards wins.
2) Trash or Garbage
Math Skill: number identification, number sense, strategy
Players: 2-4
Resources: You will need a full deck of cards
How to play: Each person gets 10 cards and the rest go in a draw pile in the middle of the playing area. Each player puts their ten cards face down in two rows of 5. The top will be spots 1-5 and the bottom 6-10. Player one will draw a card. If it is the number 1-10, you put it in the correct spot. then you take the face down card from that spot and put it where it needs to go. If you get a face card or a number you already have, the card goes in the "trash" pile and its the next person's turn. The first person to have all 1-10 face up wins. Watch a video tutorial here.
3) War!
Math Skill: Comparing numbers
How to: It is a classic! each player gets a half of the deck of cards. On the count of 1, 2, 3, both players flip over their top card. Whoever has the highest number wins and gets both cards. Whoever has the most cards at the end wins. Some twists on the original are to play two or three digit war. Have each person put out two cards or three cards lined up to make a number. This way goes faster through the deck but gives practice with comparing multi-digit numbers.
4) Make a 10 Memory
Math Skill: Number Sense, Making a ten, Addition facts
How to: You will need the all of the Ace - 9 cards. Take out the 10s and face cards. Then shuffle them up and spread them out in a grid with the cards face down. Take turns flipping over two cards like in the classic game of memory. Instead of trying to make a match, you are looking for two cards that together equal a sum of 10. If you find a pair you keep the cards and go again. If you do not find a pair turn them back over in the same spot and the next person gets to go.
5) Close to 100
Math Skill: Place Value, Two Digit Addition
How to: For this game you need two suits of cards from Ace -9. Leave out the 10s and face cards. Each player draws four cards from the deck. Each of those cards acts as a digit. Each player decides how to line their cards up to fill the blanks _ _ + _ _. The goal is to get as close to 100 as possible. So if you drew 4, 5, 6, and 8 you could make them 48 + 56. Then you total up your problem. Our example would be 104. You score for the round is the difference between your number and 100 so for 104 the score would be 4 (96 would also have a score of 4). Play as many rounds as you want. The player with the lowest score is the winner. (Challenge: you can do this will 3 digits and try and get 1,000)
* More card games here.
Games using Dice
There are many games you can play using dice. Here are a few:
1) Pig:
Math skill: Addition, probability
Great directions can be found here.
2)Shut the Box:
Math Skills: Decomposition, addition, subitizing
This site will give you great directions.
Other Ideas:
Games for Young Minds has a large collection of fun game suggestions that you can play to help build math skills. Some are free games, some are games you might already have, and some are games you may be interested in purchasing.
Cabin Fever Math has some other great suggestions!