Every week the students will have opportunities to build their number sense and mathematics abilities by playing math games.The advantages of using games to teach math have been summarized in an article by Davies (1995) who researched the literature available at the time.
- Meaningful situations - for the application of mathematical skills are created by games
- Motivation - children freely choose to participate and enjoy playing
- Positive attitude - Games provide opportunities for building self-concept and developing positive attitudes towards mathematics, through reducing the fear of failure and error
- Increased learning - in comparison to more formal activities, greater learning can occur through games due to the increased interaction between children, opportunities to test intuitive ideas and problem solving strategies
- Different levels - Games can allow children to operate at different levels of thinking and to learn from each other. In a group of children playing a game, one child might be encountering a concept for the first time, another may be developing his/her understanding of the concept, a third consolidating previously learned concepts
- Assessment - children's thinking often becomes apparent through the actions and decisions they make during a game, so the teacher has the opportunity to carry out diagnosis and assessment of learning in a non-threatening situation
- Home and school - Games provide 'hands-on' interactive tasks for both school and home
- Independence - Children can work independently of the teacher. The rules of the game and the children's motivation usually keep them on task.
Below are pictures of the students playing the classic game of "War." I sent each student home this week with a package of playing so they can work on their math by challenging their family members at a fun game.
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| Looks like he just won a big war! |
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| Writing numbers to 100! |
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| Getting comfy while learning. |
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| They are taking their math very seriously! :) |
