Imagine this: you can take the frowns you’re seeing on your students' faces during math class and turn them upside down.
How, you ask?
Magic? Potions? Sorcery like in Harry Potter?
Nope. It’s much simpler than that.
Games.
Games are the modern day answer to any problem you can possibly have if you want to find an easy way to engage your children in the lessons you are teaching them within the classroom.
In this blog, we will guide you through three ideas for math-related games that you can implement into your future lessons. We trust that these ideas will ensure your students remain engaged and have fun as they learn about math when this subject might normally put some of your kids to sleep as you read out of a textbook or do a simple pen-to-paper quiz.
Game 1: Math Bingo
Just as simple as it sounds, create bingo cards for your students with simple (or complex, depending on their age) equations. Once everyone is situated, begin announcing numbers that are the answers to the equations on the bingo cards and your students will be able to cross off a square on their cards if they have an equation that results in said number. Continue playing this game until a student yells bingo, signifying that they have gotten a line somewhere on their card, just like with classic bingo.
Game 2: Around The World
Around the world is a more physically involved math game, because we believe in the use of tangible objects when it comes to keeping children engaged and learning at the same time. Begin with a ball in your hands and announce an equation (once again, the difficulty of this equation will depend on the age of your students). Toss or hand the ball to one of your students and give them an opportunity to answer the question. If they answer correctly, give them a point and allow them to throw the ball to someone else. Repeat this “equation, throw, answer, throw” process with your students for as long as you like to give them a fun and engaging way to learn math through physical objects.
Game 3: Math Tic-Tac-Toe
Again, like the bingo above, this is a simple one. Draw a tic-tac-toe grid on your whiteboard or chalkboard and have two students at a time come up to play against each other. In order to be able to place an X or an O, students should be asked to solve a math equation. Answer correctly, place your X or O. Answer incorrectly, forfeit your turn and allow the other student the opportunity to get a leg up by placing two in a row. Continue this for as long as your students are having fun and reap the rewards of giving them an engaging way to involve math into a game that they would normally be playing during recess anyways.
What are your thoughts on these game ideas? We believe that these games will really and truly help keep your students aware, attentive and having fun during math class.
Now that we’ve had our fun talking through some fun and games for the classroom, we want to end this blog by letting you know about some more resources Explorer Hop has to help your students
We encourage you to get your students and their families to check out the Innovative Explorer Math programs we have here for children in grades 6 through 12, covering several different curriculums – including Ontario, Britain and the USA. Our internationally-acclaimed curriculum is designed to elevate the understanding children of all ages have of math through an online math program and provide them with the practical skills to ace exams and develop a passion for this crucial subject – both in school and in life beyond the classroom.
Beyond helping kids flourish and grow, we also believe strongly in helping educators around the world become better suited to empower the young minds of today, which is why we have formulated the Global Educator's Circle – where we connect educators from all over the world who are ready, willing and able to help each other grow.
For more content like this and to access our plethora of widely-acclaimed educational programs, visit our website today!