One of the foundational math skills we teach younger students is addition. And it’s true that there are so many ways you can teach this in the classroom. One of my favourite ways to keep students engaged is to use a variety of addition games.
Here are 3 of my favourite addition games for kids:
1. Teach Your Students the Shake and Spill Game.
There are so many different ways you can play this addition game! All you need for this small group activity are some plastic cups, some double-sided counters and some paper or mini whiteboards. (Feel free to make adjustments based on the abilities and age of the students in your classroom!)
- Place some double-sided counters into each child’s cup. (Tip: I make sure each child in my group has a different number of counters, so they can’t copy each other!)
- Each child needs to shake their cup and spill out the counters.
- Ask students to sort the counters so all of one colour are put to one side and all the other colour are put to the other side.
- Next, they write a sum on their mini whiteboard to represent the counters on the table in front of them (see picture below).
- Repeat. Change the number of counters when necessary.
- Want a different take on this activity? Use the ladybug template below! Roll a dice and place the corresponding number of counters on either side of the ladybug.
Find the Ladybug Addition Game Here
BONUS: Use Your Classroom iPads!
There’s an easy way to integrate digital technologies into your mathematics lessons using the basic concepts of the shake and spill game. Once your students have sorted and added up their counters, open up the PicCollage app on your iPad. Take a photo of your counters and insert the photo into PicCollage. Use the text function to type the sum underneath the photo.
2. Try a Simple Addition Game.
I created this simple game board for my students to use various materials from the classroom to teach basic addition skills. These fun math activities for students are useful for students of varying skill levels. To play, children simply roll a dice, place that many objects into the first circle, and write the number in the first box. Next, they roll the dice again, place the corresponding number of objects into the second circle, and write the number in the second box. Finally, students count how many objects they have altogether and write the answer in the final box.
Find this Addition Game here.
3. Use These Engaging Addition Games for Kids
I’m a little embarrassed to say that I have an eraser addiction (and now so do my students!). Our local Kmart has been stocking their shelves with a variety of cute little mini erasers for only $1-$2 per pack. What better way to use erasers than as counters for Mathematics activities! Take a look here for a range of addition games to compliment these erasers:
HINT: Don’t have a Kmart near you? Or has your local store sold out? These games work perfectly with any counters at all (or you can let your students create counters out of playdough like here in this Goldfish Addition Activity.)
Also, don’t forget to take the time to formally assess your students’ progress. I’ve also developed some worksheets to give me the data I need for reporting.
Find this Addition Worksheet Paackage here
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