Does math class get you and your students down? Math can be a difficult subject for many students, but it doesn’t have to be! You can make learning math more fun and engaging for students by using fun math games for kids! Here are five of my favorite interactive and educational activities for students to practice and master key math concepts while having a blast!
Fun Math Games for Kids
Math games are a great way to get students engaged in your math lesson. Plus, it takes the stress out of math! Here are five fun math games for kids:
- Roll and Cover
- Math Memory
- Math Bingo
- Math Scavenger Hunt
- Squares Your Brain™
Roll and Cover
If you need to reinforce basic math skills in your classroom, roll and cover is a simple game you can use! This game focuses on counting, addition, and subtraction and the only materials you need are a set of dice and some counters. Your counters can be small toys or games pieces or any of your math manipulatives. To play, students roll the dice and use the counters to cover the corresponding number on a game board or worksheet. So, if they roll the dice and there is a 2 and 6 and you’re adding, students would cover the 8. The first player to cover all their numbers wins!
Math Memory
Another fun math game for kids is math memory. This is a classic game that doesn’t take time to explain to students because the concept is very basic. With math memory, students practice math facts and improve their memory skills. To play, write math equations on index cards such as 2+3=5 or 5×4=20 and shuffle them. Players take turns flipping over two cards at the same time trying to find a match. If the equation is correct and the answer matches, the player keeps the cards. The player with the most cards at the end wins.
Bingo!
Another fun game with a math twist! To play, create a bingo board with math problems instead of numbers. Kids have to solve the problems and mark off the corresponding squares on their board. This first player to get five in a row wins! You can make this game last longer by doing a variety of different types of bingo. In the end, you can do a black out as well. This helps students practice their math facts in a low-stakes way. If you need a place to create bingo cards, this is a free resource for teachers!
Math Scavenger Hunt
Real-world math is so important! This math game for kids is a great game for reinforcing real-world math. To play, create a list of math problems that students need to solve using objects in their environment. This can be counting the number of steps in a staircase or measuring the length of a table. Students can work in teams or individually to solve the problems and check them off the list. The first team or player to complete the list wins. Because this can be done in any environment, Math Scavenger Hunt is a great at-home learning experience for students as well. Plus, you can get more parent involvement.
Squares Your Brain™
This is a one-of-a-kind, engaging, self-checking that I created to help my students practice key math skills in small groups, centers, or as early finishers. Each game board is a simple style that allows students to learn how to play once and then play over and over again with a different math skill. Students will choose a game board, read the directions to see what math skill they are working on, and then play! They can play as individuals or with a partner which makes this a great game for small group instruction or centers. Squares Your Brain™ comes with a variety of skills for grades K-3rd grade and are simple to set up! My students begged to practice their math skills with Squares Your Brain™.
Fun math games for kids is a great way to get your students engaged in math! All of these games can be played as morning motivators, for fast finishers, or in your Math Centers. For more tips and tricks to make your teaching life easier, make sure you follow Farrah Henley Education on social media!
