How to Make a Math Facts Board Game

One of the toughest sets of math facts for first, second and third graders to learn is the cluster of numbers with sums of 11 to 15. The numbers are all close together, and so are the sums. Why is 6+7 the same as 10+13? Or was it 5+6? A simple board game shifts learning from pure rote memory to faster, easier inductive learning.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Chosen set of math facts
• Poster board or cardboard
• Pencil
• Coloring or painting supplies (optional)
• Game dice
• Masking tape
• Pen or marker
• Game tokens or small toys

1. Select a set of math problems, probably adding or subtracting, that the game will target. The answers must all be the same set of six (no more than six) numbers. For example, you might be targeting sums of 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15. Or you could target differences of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The adding or subtracting problems can be anything, but the answers must all be the same six numbers.

2. Find a high interest subject for your child that can be represented on a map. It can be a fantasy place, an indoor building, a real national map, or an object such as a mountain that could be the goal of travel. Most young children have something they are interested in enough to play a game about it over and over

3. On a large piece of poster board or cardboard, draw this map, with the target point clearly marked. How much you color, paint or decorate it with detail is up to you and your child.

4. Plan two or three paths to get to the target. They can be trails up the mountain, roads going through the country, or paths through the mall through different entrances. Segment each path into the same number of squares, preferably more than twenty.

5. Into each square, write one of the math problems. A string of steps along the road might read: 6+7, 6+6, 7+8, 9+4, 5+7.

6. Cover one of the dice with masking tape. Using a ballpoint pen or fine marker, write your chosen six numbers on the faces of the die.

7. For play, use game tokens or appropriate small toys. Begin at the start of different paths. Roll a number. The player's token may advance to the nearest math problem that has this sum/difference as an answer. The first player to reach the goal wins.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure the game's theme is the highest possible interest for the child. Don't hesitate to use their trading-card fad or latest shopping obsession.
• The reason this type of game works well is that learning can be rote memory such as flashcards provide, or it can be inductive learning such as real life provides. Nobody ever made you learn the location of a building's lightswitches, using flashcards. You learned them because you wanted to turn on lights. A game like this provides a reason why the math facts need to be learned: to get to the target first, and win. A mistake in math facts may slow the player down, when they move their token to a mistaken square close by, rather than the correct one three squares down.