Games to Help Memorize Math Facts
Basic math facts involve addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Many age-appropriate games are available in various formats, such as flash cards, puzzles, board games and computer games.
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Tangible Games
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Coloring sheets with numbers and pictures helps preschoolers and kindergartners recognize numbers and learn to count. A flash card memory game or a card game where the child matches the number with a picture of the same number of items is a great way to improve counting skills. To learn basic addition and subtraction, have the child pull out two blocks, with numbers on them, from a bag and have the child perform the basic operations.
Card Games
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A regular deck of cards is a great tool for reinforcing basic math facts. Suppose you want to work on addition. Shuffle the deck and place it face down. Each of two players picks a card and reveals it. The one who first says the correct answer to the sum of the face value of the cards shown wins the turn and keeps both cards. The player with the most cards wins the game. Before the game begins, the teacher or the parent can choose how to handle face cards. You can remove them or give them a value of zero or make the joker zero, ace one and the jack, queen and king can be eleven, twelve and thirteen. The choice is yours; it also depends on the age of the children.
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Grid Games
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You can make a chart with a 9 by 9 grid. Write the numbers 1 through 9 across and down. Leave the middle blocks empty so that students can write numbers in them. Using the concept of the day, the students fill the grid as fast as possible. If the day's concept is subtraction the grid at row 4, column 6 will equal 2. If you are dealing with older children who have been introduced to negative numbers, this is a great way to reinforce that the answers might be 2 or -2 depending on how the problem is set up.
This game is most effective when played in teams. You can have several charts and corresponding teams. One student from each team goes to her chart and fills in a block. If a child makes a mistake, another student from the same team can take her turn to write the correct response in that grid.
If you make this a "quiet" game, it encourages the team members to pay closer attention to the process, because no one can reveal if there is an error. The team that completes the entire grid first with no errors is the winner.
Board Games
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The Bingo format is a fun way to teach math facts. Make bingo boards by creating a 10 by 10 grid of 100 blocks. If you are doing division, on your call out cards you will write 8 divided by 4, 81 divided by 9 and so on. On the bingo sheets, fill in the blocks with the quotients to your call out cards in a pattern like a Z, diagonal or straight line. Fill the rest with other numbers. When you call out the operation, the children will mark off the correct answer on the bingo board. The student or team that finishes first by revealing a pattern of correct answers wins.
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References
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