Imaginative games can help your new algebra learners grasp concepts that go beyond multiplication, division, decimals and fractions. By developing sets of worksheets and dividing your students into teams, each group can work on the questions in their worksheets, competing against the other teams in your classroom. Once each group has gotten an answer, their team's runner should bring the answer to you.
Algebra worksheets are helpful, but they have their limitations. If you have students of different learning levels in your classes, some likely will be working on more advanced pre-algebra concepts, while others are still struggling with absolute values or integer problems. If the worksheets you have been finding are not suitable for every student in your classes, develop riddle worksheets geared to the different levels of the students in your classes. Riddles allow students to have some fun while they are working out the equations.
Divide your pre-algebra classes into two groups. Each group has the same set of problems from which to work and will be competing to arrive at the correct answer for as many equations as they can. The worksheet the groups work from should consist of about 60 equations. Divide the board into three sections, with the center section being yours to write each equation down. Allow students from each group to figure out the equations, with correct answers earning points for the student/team giving you the correct answer. When a student has finished an answer, he should circle it. Once it has been circled, the student cannot resume working on it. If both students miss the answer, the next two students work on the same equation, with the equation doubling in point value.
This game is suitable for a review session before you give your class a test. Write each equation on the board and give the class time to solve the problem. Choose a student at random and ask her to explain how she figured out the problem. To win a point, she has to explain the steps she used to arrive at her answer. She must also have the correct answer. If she gives you the correct process for solving and the correct answer, she is free to choose whether she wants to win a point or gamble a point and compete for two points. If she chooses to gamble her point, she can choose from one of several activities, such as answering a trivia question, throwing a wad of paper into the trash can from a distance or guessing a coin flip.
For this game, you need a worksheet that has 24 pre-algebra questions, all with different answers. The worksheet should also have its own answer sheet. Each student should draw a bingo card using notebook paper and a pencil. Using an overhead projector, show the answers to the questions you developed. Each student should write down each answer randomly on their bingo card, one answer per square. In parentheses, they should include each question number next to each answer. At random, choose questions from your worksheet and write them on the board. Don’t write down the number of the question you chose. Instead, circle that number on your worksheet. Write each question down one at a time, and after a few minutes, add a new question. Your students should solve each question individually. As they arrive at an answer, they draw an X over the corresponding answer on their bingo board. When a student has a diagonal, horizontal or a vertical line, or if he has covered all four corners, he wins that round.