“Games can motivate students, capture their interest, and are a great way to get that paper and pencil practice”, says Marilyn Burns, world-renowned mathematics expert.
Games offer teachers a way of practicing and reinforcing arithmetic and other math skills, as well as supplementing a sole diet of drills and practice-problems with workbook pages or dittos.
Not only do games engage students, they also present the opportunity to present “high level” math concepts in a colorful and simple way.
In my experience, students are more engaged when we connect the mathematics they are going to learn with something that excites them (e.g., games).
Despite those benefits, some teachers and parents are reluctant to use board games and similar activities. Those critics tend to regard them as activities that cut into time spent on practicing problems, when in fact games should be used as another form of math practice.
Research on the link between games and math learning has implications not just for educators, but also for parents.
Turning off the television and engaging children in a simple card or dice math game just a few times a week can greatly improve their comfort in math.
There’s a huge amount of math in card and dice games that is not on television and video games.
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