Division Jeopardy takes its cue from the classic game show and implements the same competition in the classroom. With this game, you need to divide the classroom into two or three groups to face off in a competition to see which team can get the answer the quickest. First, duplicate a Jeopardy-style board with different categories and several questions underneath with different score values. Ask the questions to each team and, if answered correctly, that team gets the points and chooses the next question. You can also end the game with a final question where teams can bet all their accumulated points. Help children along the way if no one can solve a particular problem.
The Division Horse Race pits two individual students against each other in a series of questions. To add excitement to a standard question competition, illustrate how many more questions each student has to get right to advance with a horse magnet and a race track drawn on a chalkboard. As a student answers a question correctly, move the magnet closer to the finish line on the chalkboard. The student who correctly answers a specific amount of questions first crosses the finish line and progresses in the competition.
Division Basketball creates a competition between teams involving both mathematic analysis and coordination. Begin by creating two to three teams that face off against each other by attempting to successfully answer a series of division questions first. When answered correctly, award that team a crumpled paper ball. After you finish asking all the questions you have, assemble the children behind a line on the floor and attempt to throw their crumpled paper ball, or “basketball,” into a trashcan several feet away. The team with the most baskets wins. This game works well for younger children who need to develop coordination and has an additional element of fairness because a team with less correct answers can still win the game with superior throwing skills.
Division Pairs takes away the competition element that most games have and focuses instead on problem-solving. The game revolves around index cards with two written items on them. The first item is a number. The second is an equation. For example, a child can have an index card with the number 12 and an equation that reads “15 divided by 3." The matching card for this child has the answer to the equation, or 5, written at the top of the index card. The equation below the 5 must have the number 12 as an answer (i.e., 24 divided by 2, 36 divided by 3, etc.). Children continue to look for their matching pair until they find the right one.