Jeopardy Math Games
The television game show Jeopardy can teach students any number of educational subjects in an interactive and entertaining way. Trivia questions are not exclusive to this format. Performing a math version of Jeopardy can quiz students on many mathematical functions and engage them in ways a pencil-and-paper exam may not be able to.
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Setup
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Three people traditionally compete on Jeopardy, but two players works as well. If you have more than this number, divide the group into two or three teams. The game consists of a variety of categories with multiple questions in each. Make as many categories and questions as needed. The game can be played either on a hand-drawn board showing the categories or in a downloadable program. Jeopardy provides special classroom software for this specific purpose.
Categories
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The categories in a math edition of Jeopardy can range from simple mathematics to complex problems involving phrases. For younger students, categories can be the different basic forms of arithmetic such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. For students in higher levels of math, questions involving functions, algebra, and geometry can provide a challenge.
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Playing the Game
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If students play in teams, allow each person to answer one question before passing control to the next person in line. This lets everyone learn about math and play the game. Provide enough material so each person gets a chance to answer at least one question. You can change the rules to allow students to talk about answers before providing an answer.
Mental and Written Math Versions
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Jeopardy's flexible format allows instructors to play using mental or written math. For a mental math version, after the problem is either shown or read, the first person to provide the answer scores the points. In a written variety, longer problems can be used and players must write down their work and answers on a piece of paper. You can either award points to the first person to complete the problem or to each player dependent on the correct answer and work.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit math image by jaddingt from Fotolia.com
