Terese Evans is a Parent, Teacher and Lover of games who uses math games to get kids excited about math. She is the author of Making Math More Fun set of eBooks. Learning multiplication can be tricky. That's why teachers and parents need to use whatever they can to make multiplication fun and simple. One way learning multiplication fun is to use math board games.
Making math board games is easy. All you require is some card stock and markers and you're ready to go. The easiest game to create is the track game. For this one you just make a math board game with a track with start at one end and finish at the other end. The track could be circles or squares joined together. It may go zigzagging up the board or it may go around the edge with the start being right beside the finish.
First you need to mark the Start and the Finish on your math board game and then you can add the feature spaces. These are ones that say, 'Have another turn' or 'Miss a go'. Some might say 'Go forward 3 spaces' or 'Go back to the start'. You can also choose a theme for your game like racing cars or the jungle and decorate your math board with the theme. The feature spaces can also have things related to the theme. You might have, 'You have a flat tire. Miss a turn.' on your board game with the racing car theme.
You will also need to add some symbols to some spaces on the game board. These can be something like a star or can be related to the theme of your game. The jungle board might use trees or monkeys, and the racing car board might use cars. These will be the symbol to pick up a card.
On your cards you will have the multiplication facts that you want children to practice. They will have something like 9x3 or 7x5. Once the cards and the board are ready you simply need the dice (you can use one or two) and some markers. The cards are placed in a pile face down beside the board.
Each player puts a marker on the start and then the players take turns to roll the dice. If the player lands on a feature square, they simply follow the instructions. If a player lands on a Symbol square, they pick up a card. Then they have to tell the answer to the multiplication fact. If their answer is correct, they have another turn at rolling the dice. If their answer isn't correct, they miss turn. Of course the first player to reach the finish will be the winner.
You can also get the kids involved in making the game board and decorating it. This will give them a real sense of ownership and they will be really keen to play and practice their multiplication.
[Article link]
