Games with dice are always a big hit with your students. The action of throwing the dice combined with utilizing her math fundamentals makes for a fun activity for your student and reinforces the learning. An averages game is created by throwing the dice and recording the number for 10 throws. Add all the throws together and divide by 10 for the average.
Wastepaper Basketball can be played individually or in groups. Draw a line several feet from the basket and give the student 10 scrap-paper "basketballs". In each round the student tries to make as many baskets as possible and then records her progress. The progress should be expressed as a written ratio statement, "I made 3 baskets out of 10 tries." Then this can be written as a fraction, 3/10. Finally, after 5 rounds of Wastepaper Basketball the student should give his playing average.
Mas o Menos is a classroom game that encourages quick thinking and predictive strategies. Split your class into two groups; if you have an uneven number make the remaining student the game moderator. The moderator writes a secret number from 1 to 100 on a scrap paper. The first group guesses the number and the moderator responds with mas (more) or menos (less). The second group then guesses a subsequent number and so on until one group guesses the correct number. Your groups will quickly begin creating strategies on how best to guess the number using the probability of where the number lands in the 1 to 100 range. Increase the difficulty by increasing the number range.
Card games are a fun way to invite several students into collaborative learning. In this game your students are looking for the mean. You will need one deck of cards, scrap paper, recording sheets for each player (up to seven players) and a pencil. Deal each player seven cards. Each student writes down the value of her cards on her scrap paper (aces=1, jacks=11, queens=12 and kings=13). Students then find the mean by adding the values of all seven cards and then divide by seven up to two decimal places. The mean is listed on the student's recording sheet. Play 10 rounds and then instruct the students to find the mean of all their recorded means. The student with the highest final mean wins the game.
Online games give your students the opportunity to reinforce classroom learning at home. Among the many websites available for math games, the folks at Math Play have come up with more than a dozen different games that run the spectrum from simple addition and subtraction to algebra and geometry. Dr. Mike's Math Games for Kids brings together games that emphasize not only math fundamentals but also the application of those fundamentals to higher-level math problems. The games assembled represent those that are easy to play and create an environment where your student is having so much fun he forgets he is learning!