Addition Activities

Forehead Fun!

by Kim Fraser
(Wingham, Ont, Canada)

Requires 3 or more players. This is a good game as you can play anywhere, the car, the kitchen, the backyard.
1, or 2 decks of regular playing cards.

1. Two players will be dealt 1 card each, facedown.(I remove face cards and only use number cards, sometimes 2 decks combined)
2. The players each lift their cards, without looking at them and hold them on their forehead face out. (same concept as game headbands)
3. Someone in the group will call out the answer to the 2 cards.(This works well if everyone gets a turn to call answers as they are practicing their math skills as well.)
4. The two players with cards on their foreheads face each other and try to figure out what number they are based on the number they see on the other person. It can be tricky but the answers come quick!
5. I never need to keep score, it doesn't seem to matter to the kids, they just have fun playing. My tutoring group of six Gr.4 kids demands each session be ended that way with 10 mins of Forehead Fun!

* Will work well for math apps - subtraction and multiplication.

Grab and Add

by Can Teach
(Canada)

Suggested Grades: 1-3

Objective: Students will practice their addition skills through this game.

Materials:

* 10 bingo chips
* a bag that can fit all of the bingo chips, and is not transparent
* marker

Number of Players: This game can be played in groups of 2-4.

Preparation: Label each bingo chip with the numerals from 0-9 with permanent marker or by writing on a tiny piece of masking tape placed on the chips. For older students you may want to write down higher numbers.

To play the game:

1. Each student takes a turn to shake the bag and without looking grab three bingo chips. For older students, you may want to ask them to grab more bingo chips.

2. Add all the numbers on the chips together and write this number on their piece of paper.

3. The next student repeats this process.

4. Continue to play for a set number of turns or for a set amount of time.

5. Add all of the totals up (may need help from teacher), the player with the highest total wins.

Have Fun!!!