Pyramid Math Card Game

 

By ChristianMiller 

Updated on Mar 14, 2014

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Want to ditch those tiresome flash cards? Check out this game that has kids create a pyramid with playing cards! It's a fun and easy way to help your child learn addition and subtraction. This math activity also transitions well into a history lesson; After game play, you can introduce your kid to these magnificent feats of architecture that for thousands of years were the largest structures on Earth.

What You Need:

• Deck of cards
• 
  
• What You Do:

1. Help your child shuffle the deck of cards.
2. To get the game started, have your kid flip the top three cards of the deck over and arrange them in a triangle, with one card on top and two beneath it.
3. Have you child draw three more cards from the deck. Challenge him to figure out if he can find a way to integrate the cards he's drawn. For instance, if the top number is a six, and the row beneath it consists of a two and an eight, he could make a third row of the numbers 4 (6-2), 8 (6+2) and 2 (8-6).
4. If he can't use certain cards, have him put them in a discard pile.
5. He should continue building the pyramid until the deck is depleted.
6. When he runs out of cards, have him shuffle the cards that have been discarded and try to integrate those cards into the pyramid the second time around.

Once he's used all of the cards to the best of his abilities, encourage him to take a step back and admire his math pyramid.

Subtraction Action

By Alicia Danyali

Most parents probably wouldn't mind subtracting 8-9 years off their age. Here's a fun subtraction activity for your child that will do just that—in theory, anyway. It's also a good way to boost third grade subtraction skills and make them real and relevant.

What You Need:

• Pencil
• Paper

What You Do:

1. Explain to your child that his mission is to find out how old everyone was when he was born. Encourage your child to go around and record each family member's current age--don't forget grandparents, cousins, uncles, and aunts! Use the adult's age as the top number, and your child's age as the bottom number. Have your child set up the equation and subtract.
2. Now that your child knows how old everyone was when you were born, try it this way: Add his age to every family member’s age today. When you get the result, have your child make a line graph with numbers 0-100 on the y-axis (vertical) and names of family members on the x-axis (horizontal). Ask your child to plot the ages and connect the dots to see how large of an age difference there is between family members.
3. Write a word problem with your child using the ages collected above. For example, when I was born, mom was thirty years old. Now I am 9-years-old. How old is mom? Word problems in abundance!

What's going on? You're tying abstract math skills--the stuff on flashcards and worksheets--to real life. These kinds of activities help your child build lifetime skills, and they help make related topics--like the timelines of history--make perfect sense. Don't be surprised, of course, if you also end up with some cherished family stories while you're at it.

Alicia Danyali has taught elementary school children for eight years. Most recently, she taught first and third grade at the Washington International School in Washington, D.C. She is also the mother of one young son.

Sidewalk Chalk Subtraction

By Keren Perles

To many children, practicing subtraction involves scratching a pencil around on a piece of paper while yawning with boredom. Make subtraction practice more fun with this outdoor review game!

What You Need:

• Sidewalk chalk
• Yardstick or measuring tape
• Bean bags

What You Do:

1. Draw a chalk grid on a driveway or patio. The grid should have at least 25 squares –five down and five across– with each square being about a foot across. You can use a yardstick or measuring tape in order to make the squares more exact.
2. Write one number in each square of the grid. The numbers can be as high as you would like, based on the level of subtraction that children playing the game have mastered. For example, a child who is just starting to learn subtraction should have only one-digit numbers in the grid. A child who has become proficient in subtracting three-digit numbers from each other can have very large numbers in the grid. Make sure that there are no clusters of all large or all small numbers anywhere in the grid.
3. Make a chalk line about six feet away from the grid. (You can make the line closer or farther, depending on how well the children can throw.)
4. Give each child two bean bags.
5. Instruct children to throw their bean bags on the grid and take note of the numbers they fall on. Children should then subtract the smaller number from the larger number to get their final score for the round.
6. Play four more rounds, adding to their previous score at the end of each round. The child with the highest score at the end of five rounds wins the game!

Candy Corn Subtraction

By Tina Cho

Autumn brings beautiful leaves, harvest time, and a popular fall confection—candy corn! With its three colorful segments, this activity is perfectly suited for helping your child with her subtraction skills. Round up some subtraction facts your child is learning in school, cut out some paper candy corn, and have some subtraction fun! With this activity you can also sprinkle in a little math vocabulary as well—minuend, subtrahend, and difference.

What You Need:

• Orange, yellow, and white construction paper
• Template
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Bag of candy corn for use as manipulatives

 

What You Do:

1. Download the candy corn template and print it out. Then have your child cut it out.
2. Help your child trace the pieces onto the colored construction paper as directed. Have her cut out a yellow, orange, and white piece for each candy corn subtraction fact.
3. Think about some subtraction facts your child might need to work on. You can check out some of her math homework from school to see what your child is currently learning.
4. In the yellow part of the candy corn cut out, have your child write the minuend or the large amount that will have another number subtracted from it. Come up with a subtraction problem with your child.
5. In the orange part, have your child write the subtrahend, or the number to be subtracted.
6. In the white part, write the difference, or the answer to the subtraction problem. You can teach your child these math vocabulary words along the way. For example, in the problem 11 – 3 = 8, 11 is the minuend, 3 is the subtrahend, and 8 is the difference.
7. Give your child three candy corn subtraction problems at a time. Mix up the pieces. Set the white pieces on the bottom and explain that these are the answers or differences for the subtraction problems. Can she figure out what the top two pieces are? A yellow piece (or the minuend) goes on top minus an orange piece (or subtrahend) and ending in a white piece or difference. Give her some real candy corn to use as manipulatives to her figure out the problems.
8. When finished, eat some candy corn to celebrate subtraction!

Tina Cho has been an elementary teacher for 11 years, mainly in the kindergarten classroom. She is currently a freelance writer.

Tiki Subtraction Game

By Sue BradfordEdwards

Place values and what they mean are tricky for kids to master. It's much easier when you can visually reinforce this mathematical concept. Help your child grasp that one ten equals ten ones with this simple math game. For two players, all you need are two sheets of paper, two decks of cards, and some rubber bands for the games to begin.

What You Need:

• One deck of cards for each player
• Two dice
• Rubber bands
• One sheet of paper per player
• Pen

What You Do:

1. To make a place holder mat for each player, divide the sheet of paper in half and write “tens” at the top of one column and “ones” at the top of the other. You can also print out a “Giveaway” header.
2. Have each player organize her cards. She will create five stacks of ten. Rubber band these stacks together and place them on the tens side of the mat. Put the two loose cards (the ones), on the ones side of the mat.
3. The first player rolls the dice and subtracts whatever number she rolls from the cards on her mat. She can only take cards from the ones side of the mat. This means that if she doesn’t have enough cards to subtract the number on the die, she will have to “borrow” from the tens, removing the rubber band from a stack of ten and placing them on the ones side.
4. Subtracted cards are given to the player to the right. Remember, she can only keep 9 cards in the ones section of the mat. If she has more than nine, bundle up a stack of ten and place them in the ten’s side of the mat. Once her cards have been rubber-banded and sorted as needed, it is this player’s turn to roll the dice and subtract cards. Her cards go to the player on her right who then gets to roll the dice, etc.
5. If a player makes a mistake, the player who catches the error gets to subtract the cards shown on the dice from her own ones pile and give them to the player who made the error.
6. Whoever runs out of cards first is the winner.

Subtraction Stacks

By Ellen Dean

Your child will be a whiz at subtraction with this simple kinesthetic learning device. The subtraction sack game will help her to memorize basic concepts of subtraction. She'll also be able to self-test and gain a better understanding of how subtraction works by adding and subtracting counters that she puts in and takes out of a paper sack. It's also a fun game to play!

What You Need:

• Counters (plastic beads, chips or marbles)
• 6 lunch bags (decorated, if you like)
• Index cards
• Markers

What You Do:

1. Ask your child to write one number (0-5) on each bag.
2. Have your child write numbers on the index cards. On six cards, write "-0", on five cards, write "-1", on four cards, write "-2", on three cards, write "-3", on two cards, write "-4" and on one card, write "-5."
3. Place the amount of counters corresponding to the number on the bag, inside the sack. If a sack has "3" on the front, place three counters in the sack.
4. Create a corresponding stack of cards for each bag, based on the number on the front of the bag.  For example, if it's bag number 1, place cards, "0" and "-1" into the sack. If it's bag number 4, place cards, "-0, -1, -2, -3, -4" into the sack.
5. Encourage your child to draw one card and look at the number.
6. Have them remove the amount of counters corresponding from the same bag that corresponds to their card and guess how many counters will still be in the sack.
7. Ask her to check her number by looking at how many counters remain in the bag.
8. If she got it right, ask her to say a sentence explaining what she did.
9. Try practicing this game with your child every evening until she understands subtraction. Make the game more challenging by adding numbers 6-10.

Step On It!

By Carrie Ann Cain

Help your child “step up” to math challenges with a fun game in your very own kitchen. Not only will this help your child learn basic addition and subtraction facts in an engaging way, it will also get her up and moving--with math!

What You Need:

• Heavy paper, such as oak tag or construction paper
• Marker
• Masking tape
• Hard floors, such as kitchen tiles

What You Do:

1. Before you start the game, write a complete math fact in large type on one side of a sheet of typing paper. If your child is struggling with early math facts, start with low numbers like 1+2=3. By second grade, however, most kids are working with number facts closer to ten, such as 9+8=17; or with subtraction. Wherever you start, write one math equation on one side of each paper, such as 6+6=12; and write just the question (such as 6+6) on the other side. Make at least 20 facts, and then mix them all up.
2. Set up the challenge: tell your child that her mission, should she choose to accept it, is to cross the room without touching the floor, using only her knowledge of math facts. Tape a square of blank construction paper on one side of the room. This is "start." Explain that you will show her a math problem, and every one she gets right will become her next "step" allowing her to move across the floor.
3. Stand in front of your child, and show her the question side of the construction paper. If she states the correct answer to the math problem, turn it around and tape down the answer side a good step-width away. Allow her to move one space forward. Guide your child through the problems as needed, so that she doesn't become frustrated if the math concept is new to her. If your child does not answer the problem correctly, she must stay on the same space. When your youngster gets all the way across the kitchen, she has successfully completed her mission!

In order to keep the Step Game a challenge, try using multiplication or division flashcards as your child advances in math.

Carrie Ann Cain has been teaching second grade for three years. She is certified in elementary education, special education, Spanish, and ESOL (teaching english to speakers of other languages).

Play Popsicle Addition

By Mary Anne Edwards

Now that it’s first grade, “Math Facts” are here. This year, you can expect addition and some subtraction; then, when your child hits second grade, get ready for timed tests and even early explorations in multiplication and division. Worried? Don’t be. This is a time to be excited with your child about this new knowledge, and to explore lots of fun ways to develop it. Here’s a hands-on activity that classroom teachers use to help kids get a feel for equations and start building lifelong skills.

What You Need:

• 23 popsicle sticks
• kitchen timer
• crayons or markers
• construction paper
• child safety scissors
• 2 Ziploc bags

What You Do:

Label Sticks. Have your child hold each stick vertically and label it with one number, going from 1-20. Use the remaining three sticks to write a plus, minus, and equals sign (+, -, =) using crayons or markers.

Build an equation. Start with addition. Help your child make problems by using the popsicle sticks and having her hold up the answers. ( Ex. 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 1+3=4, etc.) Later, using the same popsicle sticks she already labeled, you can have your child practice making subtraction facts and holding up the answers.

If you like, add a challenge. Set a kitchen timer, for example, and see if your child can answer each problem correctly in three seconds or less. Or have your child write a list of problems and keep a “scorecard” of correct equations which you can mark with a happy face or star.

Moving forward, you can also extend the activity by having your child make flashcards using construction paper, child safety scissors, and crayons or markers. She should write one number per card, and make separate cards for plus, minus, and equals signs. Then, she can make addition and subtraction problems using the cards and holding up the answers the same way she did with the popsicle sticks. When you’re done, you can save both the popsicle sticks and the flashcards in ziploc bags—they’re a great game to pull out over snacks, in the car, or even when you’re sitting in the dentist office.

Math is all around us; and with your help, it will be safely inside your kid’s head for the long haul, too.

Make a Buck

By Ellen Dean

Get ready to make a dollar...using playing cards! Your child will love practicing addition and decimals with this competitive game. Each card within the deck represents a different cent amount. The first player to accumulate the amount of points equal to a dollar wins.

What You Need:

• Deck of cards
• Scratch paper
• Pencil
• 2 or more players

What You Do:

1. Announce the values of the cards. Cards with the values 3-10 have cent values equivalent to their numbers (threes = $0.03, fours = $0.04 etc.). The remaining cards have the following values: Twos = $0.20 (2 cents), Jacks = $0.15, Queens = $0.20, Kings = $0.25, and Aces = $0.50.
2. Ask one player to shuffle the playing cards and deal 5 cards face down to each player. The rest of the cards should be placed face down in a pile in the center of the table.
3. Players pick up their cards and keep them private so no other players can see what they are holding.
4. Encourage players to add up the sum of their cards. If no one has $1.00, keep playing.
5. Each player should take a turn drawing a card from the deck in the center of the table, and discarding one of their cards face up in a discard pile.
6. Continue playing until the first player has $1.00 in their hand, or the deck runs out.
7. The player who gets $1.00 first wins! If nobody has won and the deck has run out, whoever is closest to $1.00 is the winner.

Regrouping Toothpicks

Place toothpicks showing 40 + 3 to begin the question.

Objectives:

1. Learning and practicing regrouping
2. Print examples of regrouping in student math journals
3. Learn term names:  minuend take away subtrahend equals difference/answer (for subtraction) and addend plus addend equals sum/answer (for addition)

Materials for each group of 4-6 students:

1. twenty groups of 10 popsicle sticks or toothpicks gathered with an elastic, plus 10-20 loose popsicle sticks (students can count out sets of 10 on their desks and you can help them wrap the elastics around them)
2. index cards with numerals 0-9 on them, one number on each card, as well as cards printed with  “+” ,  “-”, “Ones”, “Tens”, and “Hundreds”, PLUS SOME BLANK INDEX CARDS (for the answers).
3. math journals for each student
4. pencils and erasers for each student
5. Chalkboard or Chartboard showing an example of one addition question plus one subtraction question, heading up the columns with “Hundreds”, “Tens” and “Ones”.  The title above the two questions says “Regrouping”.
6. Marker for each group (to write the numerals needed for the answer cards)

Regroup showing students the 20 + 9 you've taken away to end up with 10 + 4 which is the answer 14.

1. Each group of students finds an area to sit in a group, either in a gathering of their 4-6 desks or on the floor somewhere.  Teacher gives each group ten numeral cards 0-9, plus cards with “+”, ”-”,  “Ones”, “Tens” and “Hundreds”, plus some blank index cards.  Also give twenty bunches of 10 popsicle sticks gathered with elastics, plus 10-20 loose popsicle sticks.   They each have their pencils and erasers and math journals with them.
2. Teacher tells students, “We are going to practise regrouping.  First we’ll ‘make’ the number with the cards, then we’ll ‘make’ the number with the popsicle sticks.  We’ll learn how to ‘regroup’ the digits so that we can add or subtract the numbers really easily.”(Teacher info:  I mix the grades in the groups, so that all groups comprise of both grades; the grade 2′s LOVE to help the grade 1′s master this.  Grade 1′s just have to add or subtract to 100, Grade 2′s up to 200.)
3. Teacher then calls all students together in a learning circle and tells them that we’re going to do the first few questions together.  Work with the students as a group for a few minutes until they ‘get’ the idea.
4. Put down a card that says “Ones”.  Tell students that only numbers with one digit can go under this card.  Have them tell you all the numbers with one digit (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).  Tell students that therefore only up to 9 popsicle sticks can STAY** under this column.   Once you have 10 popsicle sticks, you need to regroup them into a group of 10 with an elastic around them and move them into another group.
5. Put down the “Tens” card to the left of the “Ones” card.  Tell students that only up to 9 groups of ten popsicle sticks can STAY** there (**This is important because when you regroup later you will have to add 10 to a number in the Ones column so you may have 13 popsicle sticks in the Ones column for a minute or too**).  Once you get 10 groups of 10 popsicle sticks, (100, count by 10′s so they see that it’s 100) they have to go into a new column “Hundreds”.  Put that card to the left of the “Tens”.
6. Ask  a student to give you a two digit number (43).  Teacher puts down the card 4, then the card 3.  Ask for another number  (21).   Teacher puts down the card 2, then the card 1.  Line them up above each other, in tens and ones and hundreds columns.  Put the card “+” in front of the 21.
7. Get students to help you put the correct number of popsicle sticks on each number card.  Example:    3 popsicle sticks go on the “3″ card.  4 groups of 10 popsicle sticks go on the “4″ card EQUALING 43.  Ask students what number this makes.  Have them count the popsicle sticks to make sure it’s correct…10, 20, 30, 40, 41, 42, 43.
8. Do the same for 21….10, 20, 21.  Popsicle sticks sit on top of each numeral card.  Example 2 groups of 10 sit on the 2 and 1 single popsicle stick sits on the 1 card.
9. Now tell students we’re going to ADD 43 and 21.  Put down two blank index cards where the answer will go and tell students this is the answer.  We don’t know it yet.  It’s blank or unknown.  Tell them we always start with the ones.  3 ones and 1 one is 4 ones, so gather up the 1 and the 3 and put the 4 popsicle sticks on the blank card in the “Ones” column.  Now have them help you ‘add’ the 4 groups of 10 (40) and the 2 groups of 10 (20), counting by 10′s….so they get the answer 6 groups.  Put the 6 groups on the card in the “Tens” column.  Ask them what the answer is.  See if they can count by 10′s and add the 1′s to get 64.  When they ‘get’ the answer, print the numerals on each card “6″ and “4″.  Show them how to print the question and answer in their math journals.I’ve done this with quite a few grade 1 and 2 mixed classes.  They always ‘get’ it and it’s super for getting them to understand that the ’4′ in ’40′ is really ’4 groups of 10′ and when you get ’100′, it’s really 1 group of 10 bunches of 10′s.This lesson is a great one to do before you start working with the hundreds flats.After they understand the regrouping concept, you can do this same lesson with unit cubes (1′s), ten rods (10′s) and hundred flats (100), switching 10 single unit cubes for the ten rods and switching the ten rods for the hundreds flats when you regroup.  It makes regrouping so easy to understand when you see it done like this.
10. Do a subtraction question with them before you send them into their groups to work.  Try 51 – 29    Have students put the 5 groups of 10 on the “5″, the 1 single on the “1″, the 2 groups of 10 on the “2″ and the 9 singles on the “9.  Ask them if they can take 9 away from the 1.  No, of course not.  Tell them that you need to “regroup” the popsicle sticks so that you can take away the 9.  Take one of the group from the numeral “5″ , undo the elastic and put the 10 popsicle sticks with the 1 so you now have 11.  Can we take 9 from 11 now?  Yes.  Put the “2″ in the “Ones” column on the blank answer card.  Now we have 40 take away 20.  Have them count the 4 groups and 2 groups of 10, so you take away 2 groups from 4 groups and you get 2 groups.  Put the 2 groups of 10 on the “Tens” answer card.  Have them count the answer and tell you what the numerals will be “2″ and “2″.  Print the answer on the blank answer cards.    On the whiteboard, show them how you cross off the “51″ and write ’4 and 11′ above it so students can see you “regrouped” the “51″ into ’4 groups of 10 and 11′ which still add up to ’51′.  They can see how they got ’2′ when they took away the 9 from the 11, and then they can see how they got ’2 groups of 10′ when they took ’2 groups of 10′ away from the ’4 groups of 10′ which was regrouped into ’4 groups of 10 and 11′.
11. Have students go back to their groups and either have them do a few questions you write on the chalkboard or chartboard, or call them out one at a time, orally, then taking up each question before giving out a new one.  Students now explain to you how they got the answer, explaining how they regrouped their popsicle sticks to you.
12. I start out with adding questions, then go to subtraction questions, keeping them simple for a bit, until I see that they understand the concept of regrouping.  Then I begin alternating the questions for grades 1 and 2.  For example, I’ll say, “This is a grade 1 question.”  The grade 1′s control the cards and the regrouping efforts.  Grade 2′s can help.  Then “This is a grade 2 question.”  The grade 2′s are in charge now and work on the “harder” questions but the grade 1′s can help them still.  I have found that they grasp this concept so well, often the grade 1′s can do the harder grade 2 questions (questions over 200) just as easily as the grade 2′s.
13. You can show students how to double check their answers for subtraction by adding the subtrahend and the difference (for subtraction). The popsicle sticks are still on the subtrahend and the difference (or answer)  (for subtraction).  You can also teach them the names of the numbers for addition:  add one addend to the other addend to get the sum (answer).

For Reference Click Here

Best Children's Books for Teaching Subtraction

Ten Sly Piranhas
A Counting Story in Reverse
(piranhas get eaten one by one)
by William Wise
Preschool - Grade 1

Monster Musical Chairs
A Math Start series book
(monsters get out 1 by 1)
by Stuart Murphy
Preschool - Grade 1

If You Were a Minus Sign
(good general intro to subtraction)a Math Fun series book
by Speed Shaskin
1st grade - 3rd grade

Elevator Magic
teaches number line subtraction(using subtraction on an elevator)
by Stuart Murphy
1st grade - 2nd grade

Shark Swimathon
teaches two-digit subtraction
(shark swim team fundraiser!)
by Stuart Murphy
Grade 1 - Grade 3

Hershey's Kisses Subtraction
teaches early to intermediate
subtraction via Hershey's Kisses
by Jerry Pallotta
Kindergarten - 2nd grade

Subtraction Action
comic strip intro to subtraction
(tells of a trip to the school fair)
by Loreen Leedy
Kindergarten - 2nd grade

Math-terpieces
The Art of Problem Solving
(uses works of art to teach math)
by Greg Tang
1st grade - 5th grade

The Action of Subtraction
Math is CATegorical series
by Brian Cleary
1st grade and up!

Panda Math
Learning About Subtraction from
Hua Mei and Mei Sheng
by Ann Nagda
2nd grade - 5th grade

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Third Grade: Real World Math

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set

See in set:

8 Awesome Money Games

2.3 based on 18 ratings

By Jane Oh

Updated on May 3, 2013

It's an old adage in the world of education, but it's true: math is all around us. You can try this simple activity with your child to get him thinking about the real world math you use everyday. While you're at it, you're strengthening key third grade math skills that you can expect your child to encounter all year.

What You Need:

• Supermarket ad
• Pencil
• Paper

What You Do:

1. Grab your weekly supermarket ad and look through the advertised specials together with your child. Ask her to circle 5-10 items she likes and then use these sale prices for practice with addition, subtraction, division and multiplication problems. (This activity can easily be substituted with restaurant take-out menus, clothes, game catalogs, or book order magazines.)
2. What's the total cost? Ask your child to line up all the decimal points in order to correctly compute the total cost.
3. How much change? As with addition, line up the decimal points before solving subtraction problems. Then have your child find the amount of change that you would receive from a $100 bill if you bought one item, two items or all items, depending on the price of the items.
4. How much for five? Your child should solve multiplication with decimal problems in the same manner as he would normally solve multiplication problems, but they must remember to move the decimal point over in the answer as many places as are in the problem. Have him find the total cost of purchasing 5 of the most expensive item.
5. How much if we split it? Division with decimals simply requires your child to include a decimal point in his answer directly above the decimal point in the dividend (the number being divided). Then have your child calculate how much each person should pay if 2 people split the total cost of the groceries, rounding their answer to the nearest cent.

While this activity offers lots of fun and challenge even when it's done occasionally, it's even better if you make it a regular feature of your weekly shopping. Do it often, and your third grader will thrive in math--but even better, will be prepared to be a savvy consumer for life.

Jane Oh has taught third and fourth grades for 8 years. She has worked with many diverse groups of students. She has also taught adult ESL and enrichment courses for youth at local community colleges. Most recently, she has written teacher textbook guides.

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Exploring Technology in the Elementary Classroom

Time Math by Recession Apps LLC

Reference

            Time Math is targeted to children in the second grade.  I could see this app used for students beyond second grade if they were still struggling with telling time.  This app is free and can easily be found on the app store for Apple products.  The specific math area of this app is the concept of time.  This app provides five different levels that can be explored.  The first level provides information on how to tell time.  The user learns what the hour and minute hands are used for.  The next level consists of asking the user “What time is it?”  The user then has the choice to select the intervals that will be asked.  These include: easy (hours), medium (fifteen minutes), hard (five minutes), harder (hours and five minutes), and hardest (hours and minutes).  The user is asked this each time they select one of the four levels.  The app generates a clock with a set time in relation to the difficulty selected and the user is asked to pick the correct answer out of three options.  The next level is “Set the Time” and asks the user to drag the hour and minute hand on the clock to the time that is indicated.  The last two levels are “What time will it be?” and “What time was it?”  Both of these levels require students to drag the hour and minute hand around the clock to reach the requested time. The graphics and design of this app is aesthetically pleasing.  The app is also very easy to navigate and allows for some many different difficulty levels, which is great for users who are just being introduced to telling time all the way through students who are more advanced.  When teaching a lesson about time, I think having this app projected on the board and/or giving each student an iPad to use with this app would be a great way to demonstrate time and walk through some problems together.  Instead of doing a worksheet, students could spend some time going through problems on their own. 

Academic Skill Builders http://www.arcademics.com/games/

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            Academic Skill Builders is a free website with a plethora of fun math games.  The great thing about this website is that the user can select whatever grade level and subject they would like.  The grades range from first to sixth and the subject levels include shapes, counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, integers, money, time, decimals, fractions, ration and proportion, and algebra.  Therefore, this website is great for all elementary students.  For the most part, the grade levels are on point.  This website appears to be set up to allow students the chance to practice math skills through fun and competitive games.  Parents, teachers, and administrators can also be at ease when having students online because the designers of this website were conscious about online safety. “Private” games can be set up with a password, so a student and his or her friends could organize games to play against each other in a private game.  “Public” games can be joined by anyone at anytime but there is no contact between the outside players and the student. The website also monitors player names and blocks inappropriate ones.  One of my favorite games I stumbled across while exploring this website was Jumping Chicks.  This game would be perfect for kindergarten and first grade students because the purpose of the game is to match the number to a pile of leaves that has the same number.  Your chick then jumps to that pile of leaves and the player is asked to complete the same steps again to keep your chick moving forward.  This is a fun and easy way to practice counting from one to ten. If ever in the computer lab or near computers and students finish their work before others, this would be a great website to have students visit until everyone was completed.  Having a math station in the classroom could also promote the use of this website.  Students would be able to select this math website, as opposed to a math worksheet, and have fun while still practicing their math skills.  This website, and the other website and apps I chose, provide visual learners with engaging animations to look at and allows game-based learning in a fun and interactive way.

Funbrain Math Arcade http://www.funbrain.com/brain/MathBrain/MathBrain.html

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            Funbrain Math Arcade is intended for students in grades one to eight; however, after playing through this game at multiple grade levels, I feel that this game should really only be applicable for students in third grade and higher.  The reason I say this is because I do not think that students in second grade or below would have the proper hand-eye coordination and reading skills that are necessary for this game.  I had a hard time doing it myself so I have a feeling that very young students would struggle with the ability to select the right answer and figuring out how the game works.  Regardless, this website is great because it allows students to play in the format of a board game and has 25 different math games for them to play.  I think this would be great to use as a mini math activity maybe once a week.  Students could login with their saved password and complete five rolls on the game board, which means five games.  I would guess this would take around fifteen minutes. Depending on the grade level entered, the games ask students to add, match, adjust height and distance, subtract, multiply, divide, etc. A few things that I wish could be changed about this game is that the levels do not provide a lot of feedback for students who struggle and may need assistance or a hint.  However, the student is allowed to start that game level again after so many attempts.  I do like that the each game is fairly short and keeps the student motivated to win and unlock the next game.  Each game level also provides so much variety that could be tied into lessons.  For instance, one game level takes place inside a pyramid tomb and has images of Egyptian sarcophagi.  This could tie in nicely with a geography and social studies lesson on Ancient Egypt, as well as, reading aloud or independently reading books about mummies, pharaohs and pyramids.  There are a lot of options for using this website within the classroom. 

Todo Math by Enuma Inc.

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This free app is by far the best math app I came across.  I love this app because the logistics and layout are fantastic.  Additionally, this app is perfect for student just beginning math, as well as for students who are up to second grade.  This app covers many specific math areas, such as: counting and cardinality, number operations, mathematical reasoning, time and money, and geometry.  The intended purpose of this app is to allow students to trace numbers and shapes, practice patterning, subtraction, adding, multiplying, and so much more.  I think the number and shape tracing is a great addition to this app; it’s probably my favorite part about the app because it would be such a huge help for students who are just learning how to write their numbers and drawing their basic shapes. I can easily see this app being used within the classroom because of all the great features it has.  The teacher could demonstrate how to use the app and then the students could follow along and complete each number and shape together.  A lot of the levels seem to follow the same order; therefore, it would be easy to have the teacher and young students complete the lower levels together to make sure that every student understands the process and the content.  This app seems like such a great tool to use because of the way it asks students to select the numbers and then draw them as well.  I feel like it reinforces their learning and knowledge. One downfall to this app is that although it says it is free, there are limited levels that can be played on the free version and buying this app is incredibly expensive.  However, I could justify buying this app for $24 each because it is so comprehensive and of high quality.  It also changes displays according to the seasons, which is cute, but could also be integrated into learning the new season each time it changed.  Lastly, this app was built with the classroom in mind.  If teachers do not have the budget to buy Todo Math, teachers may qualify for the school year’s Todo Math Grant Program.  Additionally, this app has a web-based teacher dashboard that tracks progress, students can play Todo Math at home on parents' iPhone or iPad and their progress is synched to your teacher dashboard, and school level management allows for supporting device sharing between classrooms (cart system) and multi-teacher management of school account. 

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