How to Make a Bingo Math Board Game

Bingo is an easy and versatile game, great for practicing simple math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and fractions. Many young learners can feel overwhelmed by standard math drills, but using bingo keeps things fun. And all of the materials to make bingo can probably be found right in your home.

Things You'll Need

• Card stock
• Poster board
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Brad
• Markers
• Marker pieces

Instructions

Math Bingo

1. Cut a six-inch-by-six-inch square from a piece of card stock to make the spinner. Use a ruler to locate the center point of the square. Poke a hole in the center large enough for a brad.

2. Draw an arrow on a piece of poster board. Cut it out and attach it through the center hole in the spinner with the brad. Allow enough room so that the arrow can spin freely.

3. Draw a circle on the spinner, tracing the circular path of the arrow. Divide this circle into as many sections as you need for your game.

4. Cut five-inch-by-five-inch game boards out of card stock. Use the ruler to divide the board into five equal rows and five equal columns, creating a total of 25 spaces.

5. Mark the spaces with whatever math skill you are using. Leave the center space "Free."

6. Use pennies, poker chips, checkers or other small household items for marker pieces.

Variations

1. Create a fraction math bingo game by listing reducible fractions on the spinner and their reduced counterparts on the game boards. Alternately, list uneven fractions on the spinner and whole numbers on the game boards.

2. Create an addition, subtraction and/or multiplying math bingo game by listing the problems on the spinner and the answers on the bingo boards or vice-versa.

3. Create a beginner's math bingo game by drawing ladybugs with with different numbers of spots or bugs with different numbers of legs on the spinner. Write the whole numbers on the game boards.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure that all of the game boards are unique, with the answers written in different places. This will ensure that there is only one bingo winner at a time.

References

• Math Games You Can Make