Math can be very challenging for some students. The conventional way of getting students to practice math concepts is with the workbook or worksheets. As a way to get my Grade One students excited to practice their math skills, I played many games with them. Here are a couple of games that the students loved playing.
Skip Counting with Plates
Instructions: With plates flipped downwards and numbers on the inside, students work together to choose the right plates in order to complete a proper sequence. Here is an example of using skip counting by 2s. The first student picks up a plate. If it is number 2, the plate stays facing upwards so the number is visible. If it’s not a 2, then the plate is flipped back down. The next student picks up a plate, and does the same thing. The next student needs to pick up the number 4, if not the plate gets flipped back down. The game ends when students have all the plates flipped upwards! This can be adapted to any level. The students are not allowed to talk to each other. They must work together using non-verbal communication to give each other clues on which plate has the next correct number. My students absolutely loved this game, and over time they were able to play on their own during free time. This game was played for skip counting by 2s and 5s.
Skip Counting – Jumping!
This activity was done outside! Using chalk, I wrote the numbers 1-20 around the school yard. Students were each given a challenge card that gave them instructions. For example, Start on 10 and jump on numbers counting by 2s. If a student received this challenge card, they would start at number 10. They would either jump or run to the next number in the sequence, which in this case would be 12, 14, 16 etc. This can also be done using skip counting by 5s or 10s.
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