Maths Games
Resource of the week: Maths Game of Strategy:
The importance of playing games with children to aid their mathematical thinking cannot be stressed too much. Playing games improves logical thinking and thinking ahead. This great little game, which I have called ‘Three Hexagon’ is a variation of ‘Three in a row’ games, played on a hexagonal board. All you need to do is print the board out, perhaps cover it with sticky back plastic to make it last longer and get two sets of 3 counters.
The rules are straightforward:
This is a game for two people.
Each player has three counters.
The aim of the game is to get the three counters in a straight line.
The player going first places a counter on one of the circles.
The second player then places one of his/her counters on a circle. This continues until all the counters have been placed.
If neither player has got 3 counters in a straight line then the first player slides a counter along a line to a circle that is not already covered.
The other player then slides a counter to an adjacent circle. Counters can only move along one line into an empty space. They can not jump over counters.
If a player can not move a counter she/he misses a go.
The more you play this game the more you realise that there are techniques to help with winning. Good luck!
Resource of the Week: Year 6 maths challenge
Here is a tricky little puzzle which is aimed at Year 6 or upper juniors (9/11). Ideal for wet breaks!
Using just the digits 1 to 9 complete the number sentences, both across and down, so that they are all correct.
A good knowledge of tables is needed, together with the ability to add and subtract mentally.
The hardest part of this puzzle is getting started and the best approach is to use trial and improvement by picking one row or column which can only have a limited number of possibilities. This might well not be the first row across or column down.
Looking at this particular puzzle the first row is a x b – c = 34. Start by looking at combinations of numbers that when multiplied make more than 34 (but not more than 43 as the maximum to subtract is 9) and then see which number can be subtracted to leave 34.
An important note on this: all calculations are done in the order shown: Bodmas does not apply.
Maths game for reception: Make 5
An often overlooked part of our site is the maths games category for Reception/Year 1. Here we have a number of simple maths games including this, the first in our addition and subtraction series, where children are given a number and have to state what is needed to make it up to 5. Ideal for a quick few minutes adding on practice. A simple print out is available after 5 questions, which is useful to show what has been done.
You can go to Reception/Year 1 maths games to play all our games.
Dora Dino has 5 eggs somewhere. She can only see some of them, so can you help her work out how many are needed to make 5.
Maths puzzle: Year 4 Handling data wordsnake
The Primary Framework for Mathematics has given each year group a set of mathematical words that they should know. This word snake contains words from the data handling section of year 4. There are only 8 of them but every letter in the grid is used once.
The words can be found by moving across or up and down (but not diagonally). The next word follows on directly from the first.
The first word (survey) is given to you so that you can get the idea. The first letter of next two words is also given, then you are left to find them with no help.
This is not easy: try it yourself. A great way to use some of the necessary language in a fun way.
This page can be found in our Maths Puzzles category.
Maths game: Three hexagon
Playing board games and card games from an early age is a great way to help children with their maths. Whether it is matching pairs, counting on or back or throwing dice, the participation involves calculating skills, predicting, seeing patterns and thinking logically.
Here we have a great little maths game for young children, thanks to MathSphere from its CD, ‘It’s All Figured Out!’
The rules are as follows:
This is a game for two people.
Each player has three counters.
The aim of the game is to get the three counters in a straight line.
The player going first places a counter on one of the circles.
The second player then places one of his/her counters on a circle. This continues until all the counters have been placed.
If neither player has got 3 counters in a straight line then the first player slides a counter along a line to a circle that is not already covered.
The other player then slides a counter to an adjacent circle. Counters can only move along one line into an empty space. They can not jump over counters.
If a player can not move a counter she/he misses a go.
Is there an advantage in going first? By careful placement of the counters at the start of the game can you ensure that you will always win?
Reception maths games: counting and colouring
We have a good selection of simple maths games which your reception/year 1 children may like to play. Here is one example.
Help Ted colour his white balloons. Just by clicking in the balloons the colour will change.
One click will make a balloon go Red.
Two clicks will turn the balloon Blue.
Three clicks will change the colour to Gold.
Don’t forget to press Go when you think the colours are correct!
This is great practice at counting, why not have a go?
More games can be found in our Maths Games section.
Counting games for Early Years
Counting is a major part of maths in Reception and Year 1. Children should be able to say and use number names up to 10. A good example of this would be to join in nursery rhymes or songs such as
“One, two three, four, five. Once I caught a fish alive.”
Children should also be counting up in ones, up to 10 objects. This would be in a practical sense of counting a number of objects that they can touch (pieces of a jigsaw, coins, hats etc). Later they can count things they can see, but not touch (panes in a window, cows in a field etc ).They can then begin to count down from a small number e.g. 5,4,3,2,1,0.
We have a great set of fun maths games on counting for Reception/Early Years and one of my particular favourites is the Counting Goats game. This is really good practice at counting up to 5. Young children can not get too much practice with this both in the home and on the computer. They may well use their fingers to help and count out loud, but after a time they will begin to count in their heads. Adults can often glimpse at a picture to see how many there are, almost without counting – don’t expect this of 5 a year old! Don’t forget to click on the banjo playing goat at the end for a happy tune!
We have a great set of counting games, so why not have a go today?
iPhone app: multiplication game
It’s a first for me: an iPhone App. But, it is a good one if you’ve only got a few pence to spare and you will need to be pretty nifty with your tables to get a good score. Practice your tables and see those cows move faster and faster with this great app. It’s easy to begin with, but don’t be fooled!!
- Practice any table from 1 to 12
- Challenge yourself to see how many correct answers you can get
- See if you can beat your highscore!
The app is available in the app store now.
Maths game: one less than
Here is a very simple game for two players aimed at re-inforcing the term ‘one less than’ with numbers up to 6. This is aimed at children just getting ready to go to school or those who are in the Foundation Stage. It is a page from an exciting new venture called ‘You Are Brainy’ which will be launching at the end of the summer and they have kindly allowed me to put up one or two of their resources.
Adding 2: Dragons and fire!
Baby dragon is learning to breathe fire by adding two to numbers. Can you help him practice?
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