How to Select Math Games

Math is one of the most valuable tools we have to use. A good grasp of math allows one to understand such concepts as structure, space, quantity, change, time and music. Math can be the most scary to learn for some people, especially kids. A major challenge can be to motivate students to see the value in math and to practice their math skills. Math games are a way to learn important math functions and have fun at the same time. Developing a love of math will prepare your child for logical reasoning and abstraction skills later in life. Here are some things to remember before you select math games for your child.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mail-order or online catalog of math games

The Basics for Selecting Math Games

1. Talk to your child's teacher or tutor and find out what math skills she is working on in school.

2. Familiarize yourself with your child's favorite colors, objects or characters. Several math games incorporate themes to draw and keep children's interest.

3. Select math games that focus on the skills your child is working on. For example, TeacherMousePad contains games for virtually every kind of skill and topic (see Resources below).

4. Determine the games that are appropriate for your child's age or grade level. No matter what skill you choose in the previous step, there are games available for each level.

5. Show your child the game you plan on using to determine his interest in it.

6. Use a question or statement to guide and encourage your child in the game, as well as facilitate discussion.

7. Continue to monitor your child's interest in the game you have chosen. Know when she outgrows the game or is no longer interested in it.

Tips & Warnings

• You can find and select some excellent math games online, particularly at Internet4Classrooms and ArithmAttack (see Resources below).
• Look for opportunities to play math games in everyday activities. For example, in cooking, one can learn about measuring different quantities and converting units.
• Make your expectations realistic because different students learn and appreciate math at different rates.
• Choosing a math game that is too advanced for your child may cause him to lose interest, or worse, feel frustrated with math in general.

Resources

• TeachersMousePad for math games
• Internet4Classrooms for instruction about math functions
• The ArithmAttack for math game downloads

[jasonwilliam]

on 9/3/2009 In addition to selecting already created math games you can always make your own! There are print-on-demand (POD) companies out there that will produce anywhere from just cards, to an entire board game for you.

I am a high school math teacher and have designed an Algebra card game. Before I jumped right in to having that game created, I created a much simpler 2-person card game called "Make An Offer".

I uploaded the files to two different companies and had some sets made. Once I have hammered out the fine details of my Algebra game, I will have it created for my classroom.

The companies I used were:

The Game Crafter (http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/make-an-offer)

ArtsCow (http://www.artscow.com/)

You can read about my simple game at Board Game Geek. You can also print out everything you need to play it for free!

Board Game Geek:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/...

[johnkhan]

on 4/16/2009 Hi, i am saying through math games for kids and cd you can do.I will say this site: http://www.edact.com/ is good.

[johnkhan]

on 4/16/2009 Hi, i am saying through math games for kids and cd you can do.I will say this site: http://www.edact.com/ is good.