Sunday, October 1, 2017

Best Multiplication Facts Game!!


I love coming up with new math games. Hearing my students beg to play a game or complain when it’s time to stop playing is one of my favorite sounds. I seem to create a ton of multiplication games in an attempt to make learning these facts fun for my students. This year, I have created my most successful game yet and I just must share.
                                                                       
It is called Badger Shuffle. This game lets the students practice a specific multiplication set such as ___ x4. You begin by having the students put their chairs in a large circle, then removing one chair. Next, you will write one product on and index card for each chair. Only use the products for the set you want to practice. For example, if you are practicing the x4 set, you would write 4, 8, 12, 16, 20… This is VERY IMPORTANT, you will need at least two of each product. Depending on the number of students playing, you may not be able to practice all the products during one game. You may want to leave off x1, x11, x12 if you have too. Once you make the cards, tape them to the back of each chair. Click here to checkout my ready-made chair cards available in my TpT store.

The student without a chair sits or stands in the middle of the circle. This student calls out a multiplication expression from the set you are practicing. For example, 4x6. Then, the students who have the product of that expression taped to their chair, must get up and swap seats. Students may not remain in their seat and they may not return to their original seat. There should be at least 2 students with this product. The student in the middle will attempt to take one of the seats while the players swap. At the end of the shuffle, someone will be left without a seat. This student will call out a multiplication expression and play continues. Click here to get Free a PDF of the directions.


Not only do my students love this game, they really do learn the set we are practicing. When an expression is called out, they immediately say the product. This repetition is perfect for some of my learners.