Card Games To Use In Math.

 I am looking at card based games because used poker decks are so easy to get and it is good to use something other than technology on occasion in class.  Furthermore, cards are more kinesthetic than digital devices.  I don't think middle school or high school math students are too old to enjoy card games.

Card games provide a break from the usual worksheets or textbook while still focusing on specific skills.  In addition, cards provide something students can move around, hold, and touch while working on concepts.  These games also provide additional practice for students who might need it.

How about Multiplication war to help strengthen student multiplication or to help those who struggle with it become more proficient with their facts.  Each set of students will have a deck of playing cards.  Black cards represent positive numbers while the red cards represent negative numbers.  The Ace is worth 11, the Jack is worth 12, the Queen is worth 13, and the King is worth 14.  Deal out the cards so the deck is split, so each player has 26 cards.

To start the game, each player flips over the top two cards and carries out the multiplication.  The person with the higher product, gets all four of the cards. The two players then flip two more cards over.  If the cards are all the same which would produce a tie since the products are equal, so these are put off to the side and the players turn over the next two cards in each stack.  The one with the higher product wins all the cards including the ones set to the side.  The players keep going through their stack of cards until one person has all the cards and they are the winner.  If you time the game, then the person with the larger number of cards is declared the winner.

There is also exponent war which is played  almost the same as multiplication war except for a couple of things.  The first card drawn is the base while the second card is the exponent. The one with the higher result is the winner just as in multiplication war.  If this is played by middle school students, all numbers are positive but if it is played by high school students who are taking higher math classes, you can keep the black cards representing positive numbers while the red cards mean negative values.

Students could also play hit the target using order of operations to acquire a specific number.  This game is played with 2 to 5 players and one deck of cards.  Again the ace represents 1 or 11, the Jack is 12, the Queen is 13, and the King is 14.    The group decides on the target number together which could range from 1 to 30 at the beginning and expand as they become better at it.  One person turns over the top 5 cards.  Everyone in the group works to get an answer that results in the target number but if they haven't managed it within a couple of minutes, flip over another card to see if that helps.  The first person to find a correct answer gets the cards, selects the target number and turns over the next 5 cards.  Continue until the deck of cards is used and the person with the most cards at the end is the winner.  If there is a student who struggles with this type of thing, you can let them solve for the target number using only four cards as a way of differentiating.

If you want more ideas, check out the 50 plus page pdf here.  Although, it is geared for K to 6, there are games that can easily be modified for older students.  The thing is, many students need to practice working with fractions or decimals even in middle school or high school so many of these games will work.  Furthermore, just do the black cards are positive and red cards are negative to make the games a bit more challenging for older students.

Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.