How Games Help Keep Students Engaged in the Classroom

Games help to grab students’ attention and keep them actively engaged in learning. Playing games requires students to pay attention. As the game moves quickly, students must stay alert. As students play games, it helps them to develop their focus. Learning this attentiveness can help students stay focused as they continue learning throughout the day.

How Games Help Students Retain Information and Skills

Through games, students can learn and develop a variety of essential skills such as teamwork, good sportsmanship, creativity, and critical thinking skills. As students play card games, they are using their working memory to think and react quickly. Most games also require students to use their problem-solving skills, which is important in cognitive development.

Card Games that Utilize Math

One of the great things about using playing cards for math games is that they can be customized to suit any skill level, so any card game can be changed to meet your students’ specific needs. Grab a few decks of cards and introduce these math games to your students.

Go Fish – Go Fish is a childhood favorite that most students should already know how to play. For this version, students will go fishing for pairs that add up to ten. Face cards are eliminated, and aces are used as a number one. You can easily customize this card game by merely changing the number that students go fishing for.

Beat the Teacher – Challenge students to beat the teacher by drawing cards and trying to build the largest number possible. Have students use a place value chart to keep track of their number. You can customize this card game by simply putting a limit on how large the number can get.

Twenty One – This game is a slightly simplified version of Blackjack. The object of this game is to be closest to the number 21 without going over. Each player is dealt two cards and have the option to be dealt another card to help improve their hand. The person closest to 21 gets a point; if they go over 21, they get zero points. The first player that gets to 10 points wins. To customize this game to suit your student’s needs, change the number students are trying to reach.

Math card games are a great alternative to worksheets and can be used to review skills or help demonstrate students’ knowledge. They are an effective way to grab students’ attention while learning through the process. If you have 20 minutes to spare or want to use some class time to give your students a fun break, try a card game.

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Gizmos

A favorite among math games in the classroom is a website called Gizmos. Gizmos offers over 400 math and science Gizmos (like super-charged simulations) that graph, measure, compare, and predict. Additionally, it aligns with most educational standards, runs on most digital devices (including desktops, Chromebooks, iOS, and Android), and can be used in whole group scenarios or 1:1.

Math Science Music

The free Math Science Music site teaches STEM through music, using it to show real-world applications of mathematical or scientific concepts. It is designed for kindergarten through college, and uses non-traditional methods to help students acquire STEM knowledge and think creatively. The content is somewhat limited, however, it is unique; it may be the perfect approach for a diverse group of learners who might not think they like math.

Manga High

Online Manga High is a gamified math-learning ecosystem that teaches and reinforces a wide variety of math fundamentals, from counting and number sense to beginning algebra and geometry. Students play the games at their own pace or work on teacher-assigned challenges. Students can earn medals, badges, and rewards, compete against students across the world, and take part in school-wide challenges against other schools. The content aligns with the Common Core State Standards. It also includes not only math games but hundreds of tutorials and quizzes.

Planet Turtle

Planet Turtle teaches math while individualizing content for each student as they play. An advanced algorithm promotes students from one topic to the next as their learning progresses. Students scaffold math learning as the system continually reacts to their performance and provides additional exposure and review on necessary topics. Since the questions are interchangeable in activities, Planet Turtle provides appropriate content while letting students pick their favorite games. It aligns with many math programs like Everyday Mathematics and Math Connects, as well as national math conventions.

PolyUp

PolyUp is a web-based platform (and app) that provides gamified math challenges for all levels of students. With the help of a friendly avatar — Poly — students explore anything from simple operations to the Fibonacci sequence and the Birthday Problem. As students work, problems get progressively harder, while offering a wide range of operations and functions to choose from. Students can even create and submit their own Poly Machines. The website also included teacher-oriented guides on how to use PolyUp in the classroom.

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