2. Games and group work
Games can be played in small groups or as a class. Playing with the whole class needs preparation and adequate resources. Allowing games to be played at times other than class time will encourage more learning and help to consolidate ideas. Setting up a games club in your school may also encourage more pupils to play.
It will also be important to understand a game’s level of difficulty so that you pick the right game for your pupils.
Case Study 2 shows one teacher playing a game with her class and Activity 2 shows how to organise using more than one game at a time.
Case Study 2: Playing Bingo to aid number recognition
Patience played Bingo with her Primary 2 class because she thought it was a great game to help pupils recognise two-digit numbers (See Resource 2 – Games to practise number skills for a full explanation.)
She gave each pupil a card and some buttons. One pupil (the ‘caller’) pulled numbers, from 10 to 50, one at a time from a box and read them to the class. Each pupil who found the number read out on his or her card placed a button over it. The first pupil who had buttons covering a row, column, or diagonal correctly shouted out ‘BINGO!’ The caller then checked the pupil had called correctly. As the pupils played the game, Patience went around the class helping. The successful completion of a row, column, or diagonal is evidence of the ability to recognise two-digit numbers correctly.
Next she divided the class into groups of eight and they played the game at their own pace, taking it in turns to be the caller.
Patience also allowed pupils to play Bingo at break. She also noticed how much more confident they became in mathematics classes. She extended the game by putting more cards into the game, using two- and three-digit numbers for her more able pupils and cards using 0–9 for some less able pupils.
Activity 2: Identifying the mathematics in games
In this activity, ask your pupils to play one of five games and identify any mathematics they think they are learning (see Resource 2). You may need to help them identify the mathematics.
Organise your pupils into groups of four or five.
Provide each group with one of the five number games.
Ask each group to discuss the game, checking they understand the rules before playing.
After playing each game for a set time, ask groups to list what mathematics they think they have practised using the table in Resource 3: Table to record numeracy skills.
You may then want groups to try one of the other games. If you have time, you could continue until each group has played all five games (rotating different activities like this is sometimes called a ‘circus’; using a circus approach allows one set of equipment, in this case a particular game, to be used by the whole class).
Pin all the results on the wall so that they can be discussed. Playing cultural games is another way of motivating pupils. This helps them see that mathematics is a popular, universal and historical activity. Ask your pupils to find out from their parents and grandparents the sorts of traditional games that they played that dealt with numbers. There is one very popular game (Resource 4: The cultural game of Africa) played all over Africa, which has a variety of names. In Rwanda it is called Igisoro. There are many versions of this game. It involves important mathematical skills and can be played by pupils of different ages.
Understanding how games can be adapted for use by pupils of different ages is important for a teacher. For example, in its simplest form, this game is suitable for younger pupils as it encourages counting and understanding the concept of one-to-one correspondence. As you extend the game, pupils learn about addition and subtraction. If you are teaching pupils at different levels, see Key Resource: Working with multigrade classes [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
You may have to let them play over more than one lesson or let them play during break times.
1. Using games to support mental maths
