Improve our fluency in addition and subtraction of numbers up to 40.
Improving mental strategies for adding and subtracting one and two-digit numbers.
- A3 print out of the game (available in PDF download below)
- 2 magnetic markers, plus extras to fix game board to white/black board
- 1 ten-sided die
Reach ‘SNAP!’ by correctly adding numbers before the other team does.
Set up an A3 game board out the front of the classroom, with two magnetic markers and a ten-sided die.
- Divide the class into two teams.
- On the first turn for each team, roll the die once and move the number of squares shown. Roll the die once more and select one student on the team to add (in their head) the number shown on the die to the number on the square. Only move the marker once they have given their answer. If their answer is wrong, move them back to the start of the board. Pass the die to the other team and repeat.
- On the second (and subsequent) turns, choose a different student on the team to add the number on the die to the number their marker is on. If they answer incorrectly, the other team must subtract the number on the dice from the number the marker is on, and move them back towards the start square. Repeat, each time choosing a new student to add/subtract, until one team reaches ‘SNAP!’.
Hint: Encourage the students to calculate the moves mentally!