Using maths games in class and at home

Games are among the most effective ways to practise arithmetic, and also among the easiest to misuse. A game that fills ten minutes with sixty small calculations, each with instant feedback, is hard to beat. A game left running for an hour as a babysitter teaches little. This page is for teachers and parents who want the first and not the second.

What games are good for

Practice of something already taught. Games build speed and confidence with ideas a child has met. They are a poor way to introduce a new idea.
Many repetitions without boredom. A child will answer far more questions in a game than on a page.
Instant feedback. A wrong answer is corrected in seconds, before it can become a habit.
A fresh start for a discouraged child. A game carries no red ink.

In the classroom

As a starter. Five minutes of one game on the projector at the start of the period. Take answers from the whole class on mini-boards, slates or fingers, so that everyone answers and not only the quickest.
As a station. In a class with one or two devices, make the game one of four activities that groups rotate through.
As a finisher. For children who complete their work early, in place of "more of the same".
As a quick check. The level a child manages comfortably tells you a good deal about where they are.
Without devices. Every game here has a paper or card version described on its page, and there are twelve more on the page of games without a screen.

At home

Little and often. Ten minutes a day, at the same time each day.
Sit alongside for the first few rounds of a new game. Ask "How did you know?"
Choose the level together. About eight right out of ten is the level where learning is fastest: hard enough to need thought, easy enough to succeed.
Praise effort and method, not speed. "You checked that one, well done" does more good than "You are so fast".

Competition

Racing against classmates thrills the quick and humiliates the slow, and the slow are the ones who need the practice. Let each child race their own best score. These games keep a personal best for each level, in the browser, for exactly that reason. Where you want teams, mix abilities and score the team.

The timer

Timed practice helps facts become automatic, but only after they are understood and mostly right. For a child who is still unsure, a clock produces guessing and anxiety. Each quick game here has a relaxed mode with no clock. Use it first. Introduce the 60-second race later, and drop it for any child whom it upsets.

What to do with mistakes

At the end of a round the game lists the questions that were missed. Do not skip past it. Pick two and ask the child to talk them through. You will soon see which kind of mistake it was.

A slip: the child knows it and went too fast. Needs nothing but a moment's care.
A missing fact: the same fact is missed again and again. Needs a few days of short practice on that fact.
A misunderstanding: the method itself is wrong. Needs teaching, with objects or drawings, away from the game.

Choosing a game

Start from what the class is working on, not from what looks fun. The pages for classes 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6 and 7 and 8 group the games by stage. For written practice to go with them, our neighbour site Worksheets makes printable sheets with answers.

About these games

There is no login, no leaderboard and no advertising on the game pages. Scores stay in the browser of the device and are not sent anywhere. Nothing needs installing, and once a game page has loaded it keeps working if the connection drops.

All games Games without a screen Mental maths