If you have a child who isn’t into math or excelling at it they have lots of company—at their school, in the larger community, and around the world. Education Week reported on what one source called “the crisis in math achievement” that is a “global concern.” Last year Harvard termed the U.S. picture “sobering,” while weighing in on a report from Arizona State University. It showed that “In spring 2023, just 56 percent of American fourth-graders were performing on grade level in math, down from 69 percent in 2019…”
The reasons for that decline are likely many. And while no one thing is the cure-all, making math fun and real-world relevant goes a long way toward upping motivation and improving performance. Games are one way to do it.
This article will share practical strategies and tools for parents and educators to use games in teaching math, along the way, creating a lively and engaging learning experience for kids. Also see past posts on making the math path a joyful journey including Number Games Make Math More Fun, Build Skills, Make Math Feel Game-Like with Math Word Search Puzzles and Mastering Early Math Adds Up to Multiple Wins.
Why games are great for learning math
Games produce more than feel-goods. Citing a study by the Federation of American Scientists, Axon Park, an education technology company, reports, “Gamification boosts memory and recall by 40%.”
Gamification, or adding gameplay elements to other areas of activity, also improves comprehension. Let’s Go Learn notes, “In mathematics education, gamification has the potential to turn harder concepts into interactive challenges that students find not only comprehensible but also enjoyable and fun.”
They suggest this is because “The application of game design principles, such as points, levels, challenges, and rewards, creates an engaging and immersive learning environment.”
Games blend fun with learning, making them perfect for teaching math. Here are some key benefits:
- More engagement: Math concepts can feel boring and/or hard without much immediate payoff. Games create a different kind of challenge and sense of achievement.
- Improved Retention: Games require critical thinking and problem-solving in a way that feels natural and tends to be remembered. provide repetitive practice in a fun setting, making learning more effective and less tedious.
- Increased Confidence: Successfully completing game-based challenges boosts children's confidence in their math abilities, encouraging them to tackle tougher problems.
- Immediate Feedback: Instead of waiting for feedback on graded assignments, with gameplay, kids know what they did wrong right away.
- Cognitive and Emotional Growth: Strategizing and learning from mistakes are important skills that develop maturity and perseverance.
By using games in math education, parents and teachers can help kids thrive both academically and emotionally
Counting games for preschoolers
Math readiness, and attitudes about math, start early. Counting games are a wonderful way to introduce young children to numbers and basic math concepts. These games help preschoolers build a strong foundation in math while having fun. They’ll remember the joy! Here are some simple counting games perfect for little ones:
- Counting with Everyday Objects: Use items like buttons, blocks, or fruit for kids to count. Ask them to count how many items are on the table or how many apples are in the basket.
- Number Hunt: Hide numbers around the house or yard and have kids find them. As they discover each number, they can practice counting up to that number.
- Hopscotch with Numbers: Create a hopscotch grid with numbers instead of colors. As they hop, children call out the numbers, reinforcing counting skills.
- Counting Songs and Rhymes: Songs like "Five Little Ducks" or "Ten in the Bed" make counting fun and memorable. School Zone’s “On the Road from 1 to 10” is available as an MP3 download. These activities help little ones develop their number recognition and sequencing skills, which are crucial for future math success.
Little ones develop their number recognition and sequencing skills, which are crucial for future math success.
Games for addition and subtraction
As kids progress through kindergarten, first grade, and second grade they learn concepts and skills that lay the foundation for continued math success. Numbers get bigger and get plugged into equations. Keep the positivity rolling! Here are some addition and subtraction activities that use gameplay:
- Math Bingo: Create bingo cards with sums or differences. Call out math problems, and children mark the answers on their cards. It promotes quick thinking and problem-solving.
- Flash Card Relay: Set up a relay race where children solve addition or subtraction problems on flashcards before passing them to the next player. It's a great way to combine physical activity with learning.
- Number Hunt: Hide numbers around the house or classroom. Ask children to find numbers that add up to a specific sum or difference.
For more strategies, check out 15 Ways To Make Math Fun for All Students. These activities not only make math enjoyable but also help children develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Math workbooks and flash cards: Perfect partners
While games are fantastic for engaging children in math, structured practice is also important, and it can still be playful. School Zone’s math workbooks and math flash cards provide a solid foundation for reinforcing the math concepts using creative, colorful tools that help kids focus.
Here's how these tools can enhance your child's learning:
- Organized Practice: Math workbooks for kids offer a structured way for kids to practice math problems, helping them build skills progressively.
- Concept Reinforcement: Using workbooks alongside games helps reinforce what children have learned in an engaging manner.
- Quick Recall: Math flashcards for children can be used in game formats to improve memorization and quick recall of math facts, especially for mastering addition and subtraction and then multiplication and division.
By integrating these resources, parents and teachers can help ensure children gain both a conceptual understanding and practical math skills.
Interactive digital learning apps
In today's digital age, learning math through games is more accessible and engaging than ever. Digital learning apps and interactive games offer a take-anywhere way for kids to practice math. Here are some benefits of using these tools:
- Interactive Learning: Digital apps provide interactive experiences that adapt to a child's learning pace, offering challenges that grow with them.
- Engagement and Motivation: Bright graphics and interactive elements keep children engaged, making learning feel like play.
- Anywhere, Anytime Learning: With apps available on tablets and smartphones, learning can happen on the go, making it convenient for busy families.
The Anywhere Teacher subscription from School Zone is a great resource for playful, interactive learning experiences. Its 3000+ activities include many designed to make learning math a delightful discovery for children ages 2 through 8. With activities like Math Marvels, which builds connections between counting and doing addition and subtraction; Charlie’s Math Adventure, in which kids help Charlie, the golden retriever star of Charlie & Company, learn math and earn his favorite snack; and Munch-a-Lunch that asks kids help the hungry ant collect all the numbers and avoid the bug spray, math definitely feels like play!
Incorporating games, both physical and digit into math learning can transform how kids approach numbers and problem-solving. Adding colorful math workbooks and flash cards into the mix delivers lots of ways to make learning an adventure. Check out School Zone’s wide range of tools and resources.