Calculation Nation

NCTM's Illuminations site includes Calculation Nation.  Students may play the games to challenge themselves, playing against the computer, or they may challenge another online player. 

The games practice multiplication facts, factors, prime numbers, area, perimeter and other upper elementary through middle school concepts and skills.  All games add an element of strategy so that students are prompted to try several possible moves before selecting the best move that garners the most points.  Students won't realize they're really doing math as they PLAY these games and they'll keep playing to try to improve their scores and beat the computer or their online opponent.

Add this free resource to your online sites and encourage students to practice regularly.  They may enjoy playing each other, parents, older siblings or students from other schools.

Two of Everything

Use the book Two of Everything to introduce students to the doubling pattern.  Students will enjoy the story and predict what will happen each time something is put into the magic pot.

Make the math connection even more concrete by using a pot and linking cubes to illustrate the story.  Students may use a Magic Pot Workmat to record the input and output, then write a rule.

Extension:  Extend the activity by using the magic pot and simple rules to create data sets.  Students should guess the rule by giving an input number and telling the output that would result.  By not stating the rule, students provide more time for other class members to generalize the rule.  Each guess simply provides another data set for students to enter in their table.

Enrichment:  After reading Two of Everything, challenge students to solve NCTM's 5 Coins problem:  Would you rather have 1000 coins or 5 coins and a Magic Doubling Pot that works 10 times?  Students might work in pairs and use in/out charts to record their solutions.

NCTM Number Sense Games

Primary Krypto

This NCTM Illuminations online game helps students develop number sense as they combine 5 different numbers with any of the 4 operations (+ - X /) to produce the target number. This online adaptation of the Krypto game is a great site for student practice of basic facts. Consider pairing students to work together and strategize solutions. Visit Mathwire's What's New? page to download a template to use with students who are not at the computer.

Add this game to your Game Day repertoire and send home the link to parents so that students can practice at home as well.

Calculation Nation

Create a free account on this site to play the games: Square Off, Factor Dazzle, Fraction Feud, Times Square or Slam Ball. This is a great way to practice multiplication and division facts. Two of my favorites are Factor Dazzle and Times Square.

In Factor Dazzle (Factor Game), students must correctly identify all of the factors of a number to gain points. But beware: the student chooses the number but the computer gets points for the sum of all the factors still available on the game board. Then the computer chooses a number and the student must identify all the factors still left on the game board. The player with the most points wins the game so students learn to choose very carefully and rehearse several options in the search for the best choice that yields the most points for them while giving their opponent the fewest points.

In Times Square (Product Game), students change one of the two given factors to create a new product on the game board. Four squares in a row wins the game. Students try to extend their own patterns while blocking their opponent. Once again, students must choose a factor carefully so that they don't give their opponent the winning edge.

The Calculation Nation site offers two different modes of play: players may challenge themselves by playing against the computer or they may challenge others by choosing another online player from a menu of available players. In fact, students are encouraged to try to play someone from each of the 50 states and the site keeps a record on a US map for students to view.

Once again, add this valuable free site to your classroom Game Day resources. Be sure to send this URL home to parents so that students may play at home as well. Students may easily challenge fellow students or their parents in the multi-user format. The challenge others option is an incredible format for tech-savvy kids!