The part of me that loves balance wishes that I weren't blogging about math games after just having posted about a math game. However we are in the midst of a long-term humanities project, so a language arts / social studies post will have to wait. Therefore, the part of me that loves excess will now tell you about two math games in one post! Take 1,000 Our current unit is all about exploring our base-10 number system. A huge part of undertanding base-10 is becoming familiar with patterns that have to do with 10. For example, ten ones make ten, ten tens make one hundred, ten hundreds make a thousand, etc! Being able to compose and decompose ten also lends itself to understanding multiples of ten. For example, 3+7=10, therefore 30+70=100 and 300+700=1000! The game Take 1,000 is meant to help students use their knowledge of what makes 10 to help them make 1,000. It goes like this: Partners have a deck of cards face down in between them. The cards have multiples of 50 on them (100, 700, 50, 350, etc.). One at a time, the students flip over a card, creating a line of numbers. They continue to flip over cards until someone sees a combination that makes 1,000, at which point that person says "1,000!" He/she then must justify how those numbers add up to 1,000. If he/she is able, he/she gets those cards. This game is challenging at all levels. In the beginning, students are looking for two cards (usually multiples of 100) that together equal 1,000. As they become more automatic with what makes 1,000, the students are better able to recognize combinations of 3 and 4 cards that together equal 1,000. Take Down As we delve into the conceptual complexities of the base-10 system, it's important that we not lose the valuable computational skills we've gained along the way. Triple-digit subtraction that involves borrowing is one of those skills that needs lots and lots of practice, which is why I love the game Take Down. In Take Down, both partners begin with 1,000 points. They take a series of turns, flipping over cards to make 2-digit numbers, and subtracting those numbers from 1,000. The goal is to get as close to 0 as possible without going into negative numbers. For instance, I might flip over a 7 and a 3. Because I want to get to 0 first, I choose to subtract 73 from 1000 (a triple borrowing problem). I now have 927 points. On my next turn I will create the largest number possible to subtract from 927. The students love the competition aspect of this game so much that they don't complain about the fact that I'm basically just asking them to subtract a bunch. In the end, there are many benefits to exploring number concepts through games. Aside from the academic practice they provide, the children are also gaining interpersonal skills. We speak explicitly about these skills and their purpose before, during, and after group work sessions. I'll leave you with a simple chart the class dictated about the do's and don't's of group work.
1 Comment
Rotem
10/11/2018 07:23:15 pm
love the games!
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3rd GradeLittle people, big minds. Archives
May 2019
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