How to Make Fraction Math Games

Fraction math games can be made at differing levels of difficulty, making them suitable for beginners who are just becoming familiar with the concept of fractions, or older students who are beginning to add and subtract fractions. You can easily make these games yourself or with the help of your children. Hand-make the pieces or create them on your computer and print them out.

Things You'll Need

• Envelopes or bags
• Scissors
• Markers
• Index or blank playing cards
• Paper

Instructions

1. Make a pizza or pie fraction game. For a two-player game, print out or draw pictures of at least seven whole pizzas or pies. Leave two of the printouts whole for game boards. Segregate the remaining five printouts into fractional parts and label them. Use the fractions your students are currently working on. For example, mark one pizza into halves, one into thirds, one into fourths, and so on. Cut these pizzas or pies into their fractional parts. Laminate, if possible, for durability.

2. To play the pizza fraction game, give each player a whole pizza or pie game board. Place the fractional pieces inside an opaque envelope or bag to be randomly selected by the players. Each player, in turn, takes a piece of the pizza from the envelope and places it on his whole pizza game board. The winner is the one who can covering the entire pizza first. If both players go over a whole, either disregard that turn and continue play or choose the winner according to who came closest to a whole.

3. Make a fraction card game. Using plain paper index cards or blank playing cards (available from teacher's stores), create a deck of cards that has fractions in both number and picture form. Make the entire set in numbers and pictures for each fractional denominator. For example, make numbers and pictures for 1/3, 2/3 and 3/3. Do this for all fractions you will use. For elementary-schoolers, use easily recognizable fractions, such as halves, thirds, fourths and eights. Later, add more fractions to the deck or create more difficult decks with other fractions.

4. Play the fraction card game in a variety of ways. Play a memory-type game with the cards by turning them face down, then taking turns picking them up to trying to make picture or number matches. For example, the picture of "½" could match the number card ½ or either the picture or number card for 2/4. Play other traditional kids' card games with the fraction deck, including War (see who has the larger fraction) or Go Fish (see if the other player has a matching fraction in her hand). Raise the difficulty level of any of these games by introducing concepts like equivalent fractions and adding fractions.

5. Make a bar fraction game. Use sentence strips, adding-machine tape or any long, thin pieces of paper that are all the same length. Leave one piece whole and cut the others into fractional parts such as halves, fourths, thirds, sixths and eighths. Each player needs a set of these pieces. Create these yourself or have kids make them as part of their math practice time. Before playing games with them, have kids lay them down in decreasing order, one set under the other, from whole to eighths. This provides a visual picture of the different fractional-equivalent pieces.

6. Play the fraction bar game in the same way as the pizza or pie fraction game. Use the whole strip of paper as the game board. Place the fraction pieces in an opaque envelope or bag. Continue this game in the same manner as the pizza game above.