Critical thinking math games

Grades: Mathematics. View Sample Pages. Qty: Add to Cart. Item Added to Shopping Cart close. Continue Shopping View Cart. Students learn and refresh skills by playing fun games as math comes alive in new ways. It is a great tool for parents and teachers to see where their students are thriving and where they may need help. There are no "lessons" about these concepts, just instructions for each game, and sometimes a little snippet about a math concept.

There are a lot of examples of how to work the problems within the games so that is helpful to know if you are working the problem right. The Critical Thinking Co. I was kind of surprised how fun doing some algebra could be with these games. Not only are they fun, they break up the monotony of textbooks and add what I like to call, "learning with glitter".

The instructions list the materials needed, the mathematical learning standards for each game, an overview, and how to play the game. There are also examples to follow, which I found to be helpful in explaining the games before we tried them.

We enjoyed playing several of the games we tried. I focused on the algebra games, and our favorite was "Bingo Anyone? Everyone loves a fun game of Bingo, and this one had a twist: The student must calculate the answer and then find it on the Bingo board. There are three different variations for this game, and we enjoyed the variety. This one required some thinking ahead, and had variations as well. The correct answer is a length of 15 inches and a width of 4 inches assigning the larger number to length.

Note the depth and value of a critical thinking opportunity: the solution strategy connects 2D geometry with the number theory technique of factoring and is a precursor to a more sophisticated factoring procedure used in Algebra 1.

The second question requires greater time investment than the first question, but is worth the extra time if one is committed to young adolescents learning content in a way that fully engages their reasoning skills.

The first Common Core mathematical practice standard emphasizes the need to have students make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Young adolescent reaction to problem solving and decision making can be decidedly mixed.

On the one hand, playing an active role in the solution process — figuring something out and being creative — can be fun, exciting, sometimes even addicting for young minds that are ready to be engaged. However, overcoming obstacles and persevering with a task that requires multiple steps and authentic reasoning can also sometimes be discouraging for early adolescent brains just learning how to tap into their emerging powers.

The frustration level can depend on the difficulty level of the problem-solving situation, and a common, safe path is to keep decision making and creative expectations down to a minimum. However, if mathematics education in the United States is to reach a higher standard against a worldwide benchmark , children must be encouraged to persevere with critical thinking and decision making, to embrace both the excitement and occasional frustration of authentic reasoning and creativity. The Critical Thinking Co.

These enrichment activities challenge students to make decisions and construct solutions — to play an active role when learning content. Variety is favored over repetition, although care is taken to have common themes emphasized and connections reinforced. Presentation is often graphic intensive, resulting in visual appeal to young eyes.

Real-world applications are easily identifiable. Problem-solving is supported with clear, comprehensive solutions and explanations. In Dimension Detective students deduce missing dimensions for a variety of geometric shapes by using proportional reasoning, number theory ideas, and connections between 2D and 3D shapes. In Linear Patterns students determine number patterns and geometric patterns, and then deduce algebraic expressions to describe these patterns a precursor to creating algebraic equations to describe linear graphs.

Each activity set is accompanied by needed math facts, strategy tips, and comprehensive solutions that teachers and parents can use to help support student investigations. These sorts of enrichment activities provide middle school students with an opportunity to explore mathematical content, create or reinforce ideas, make connections, and use abstract reasoning.

Young adolescents have emerging cognitive powers to accompany their rapid physical growth, and math enrichment can provide middle school students with appealing opportunities to use their maturing reasoning skills. Here's what some of our customers have said regarding the use of The Critical Thinking Co.

I saw your curriculum and gave it a try. Wow, what a great fit for my son! Your Mathematical Reasoning curriculum gave him a way to learn math that made sense to him.

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