***8/19/14 Update: Congrats to Anna L., winner of the Math Menu Giveaway! Thanks for participating!***
It seems like just a couple weeks ago I was talking about summer boredom and math games… but look! I just published the last of the fun math game series, and already the beginning of the school year is upon us.
So. The math games. Have you tried any of them???
42: Addition
99: Addition and subtraction
Closest to 100: Addition (2-digit numbers), place value, negative numbers
Divide and Conquer: Division
Low Score: Fractions, addition
Target Number: Order of Operations
Tic-Tac-Toe Products: Multiplication fact practice
If you play them, I think you’ll also be convinced that they’re keepers! Once I learned these games, I knew I wanted to use them in my classroom. They would be perfect for reinforcing math concepts, rainy-day recesses, and choice time (aka “free time”). In reality, I found that all this was true, and that they were especially great for those crazy days leading up to Winter Break or Summer Vacation. However, I knew it was unrealistic for me to use them unless I had something convenient to use. I needed something practical that would:
- summarize the game, rules, and materials for me in a straightforward, skim-able, step-by-step fashion.
- have templates handy.
- not require me to run off more copies
- be accessible to students if I were not available (like during rainy day lunch).
So I made The Math Menu.
It’s a binder with all the games and templates in sheet protectors! This not only protects the pages, but also makes the templates reusable. I would highly recommend that you make your own “Math Menu” (or win it (see below)!) I’ve used it countless times over the years, and it has been my saving grace on those crazy afternoons when I know we all need to take a break from the routine. Trust me. Small investment of time– maybe 20 minutes, max– and big payoff. I did all the hard work for you. USE IT! =D
For parents, this is perfect for those stay-in days and weekends, to take along for trips, and to send off when they stay at grandma’s. Or just for family game night! 🙂 Everything in one handy, easy-to-access spot.
I compiled everything into ONE DOCUMENT FOR YOU! No need to refer back to any of those older posts (linked above), unless you want to watch a quick video and skip reading the instructions. Now all you have to do is print up the master document and stick it into sheet protectors. You’re welcome!
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How to make your own math menu:
Materials
- one 1″ binder
- 10 glossy sheet protectors
- One printed copy of The Math Menu
- a sandwich bag with 5 dice (or 1 die)
- a sandwich bag with 2 paperclips and 30 game pieces (15 in one color, 15 in another)
Instructions
1. Slide the first page into the binder cover, if there is one. Slide the title page into a sheet protector (it gets its own sheet protector). Put the rest of the papers back-to-back and slide them into glossy sheet protectors. See how “99” instructions face the “99” card value sheet?
2. Store the first sandwich bag (dice) in the sheet protector for Target Number. (One die will also work– just reroll it until you have all the numbers you need). Store the second sandwich bag (paper clips and game pieces) in the sheet protector holding Tic-Tac-Toe Products.
DONE! This little investment of time will pay off greatly in the years to come!
*If you’re a teacher, then make extra copies of the templates for Closest to 100 (1 per student) and Tic-Tac-Toe Products (1 for every 2 students) and put each one in its own sheet protector (not back-to-back). These make handy dandy reusable game boards that you can just pull out for class play, and easily put back for storage.
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Wanna know an even easier way to get a Math Menu binder? Win the one I made! 🙂 I know this will only interest a very specific subset of my readers, but since I had to make a pretty one to take pictures of anyway… so now it’s an extra one. Want it? Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below. It will use Random.org to select a winner on Tuesday, August 19. Open to residents of the United States. You can enter once a day. Check back on Tuesday morning to see who the winner is!
20 responses to “Make Your Own Math Menu! (+Giveaway!)”
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All these games look so fun. I haven’t tried them yet, but I’m looking forward to teaching my kids these fun games! I love the idea of the math menu, too!
Thanks! Yeah learning the whole set of games can seem a little daunting, but if you watch one of the videos I posted (all of them updated with videos now), it shouldn’t seem to bad! I’d start with Tic-Tac-Toe Products or 99 if I were you :).
These look like great games. I am glad you include videos of the games.
YAY!! SOMEBODY FOUND THEM USEFUL!!! =D Your one comment made the effort feel worthwhile. Thank you!!! 🙂
I love the games I’ve tried. I play with my grandsons. It is a great way to strengthen their basic math skills. We’ve played Divide and conquer, 99, closest to 100, and tic-tac-toe so far. I want to play target number, but I have to find more dice.
Yay!! I’m doubly encouraged to know you’ve tried the games, enjoyed them, and found them to be good for math skills! For Target Number, you can use just one dice and roll it twice to get the target number, and then five more times to get the other numbers! 🙂 But if you win the giveaway, you’ll get five :).
Divide and conquer sounds fun!
It is! Hope you get a chance to try it out! 🙂
Tic Tac Toe Products! Super sneaky way to get those math facts down. 🙂
Riiight? It’s my personal fav :).