If you are the parent of a child who has just finished second grade and will be going into the third grade in a month or two, how are you going to keep his/her math skills honed so that he/she is completely ready for third grade math? As an elementary math specialist, I have found that math games are perfect summer skill sharpeners.
By the end of grade two, students should:
• understand place value and number relationships in addition and subtraction
• use simple concepts of multiplication
• be able to measure quantities with appropriate units
• classify shapes and see relationships among them by paying attention to their geometric attributes
• collect and analyze data and verify the answers.
As a veteran second grade teacher, I have found that understanding place value and number relationships is the most important skill that second graders need to practice and master.
The following games are two of many second grade/third grade games that help children understand and have fun with place value:
Who Will Win?
What you need:
2 players
1 die
deck of cards, 10s and face cards removed
counters (pennies, paperclips, etc.)
Player #1 takes a card and turns it over for all to see. Player #2 does the same. Player #1 takes a second card and turns it over for all to see. Player #2 does the same. Each player uses his/her two cards to make a two-digit number. Players say their numbers out loud. Player #1 rolls the die to determine who will earn a counter.
1,3,5 odd roll – the lower number earns a counter
2,4,6 even roll – the higher number earns a counter.
Players continue building numbers and alternating the throw of the die. The first player to accumulate 10 counters is the winner.
Get Close to 100
What you need:
2 – 4 players
deck of cards, 10s and face cards removed
paper and pencils for each player
The object of the game is to make a two-digit addition problem that comes as close to 100 as possible.
Shuffle cards and place them face down in a pile.
Player #1 turns over 4 cards and moves the cards around until he/she has created a two-digit addition problem whose sum will be as close to 100 as he/she can make it. Player #1 records this problem on his/her recording sheet. Player #2 checks for addition accuracy.
Example: Player #1 draws a 4, a 7, a 2, and a 5. He/she moves the cards around until she/he decides that 47 + 52 = 99 is the closest that he/she can get.
Player # 2 draws four cards and does the same.
The points for each round are the difference between their sum and 100.
Example: A sum of 95 scores 5 points and so does a sum of 105.
Players compare scores at the end of this first round. They put their four cards in a discard pile and player #2 begins first and turns over four more cards for the second round.
After six rounds, players total their points and the player with the lowest score wins.
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