Online Math Games For Middle School/High School

 

In addition to having a few paper based games, I like having some available for students who finish early or need a bit extra practice in certain areas such as algebra or pre-algebra.  I know that many of my students like to play games if they finish early and it is a good incentive  to have them finish.  So we are off to learn about some free games.

Hoodamath has a nice little game called Integer Tilt.  It is a bit different than many of the integer balancing games.  The idea is that you use your left or right arrow keys to move the dropping block to one side or the other.  You want to keep the two sides as close to being in balance as possible.  

In addition, there is a x - 1 square that drops down every so often and it changes the value from positive to negative or vice versa so it is handy at certain times.  If you get too much of a difference or you miss one, the game ends.  It is a game that can be played easily with little time needed to learn it.

Another site, Math Game Time, has several games that are based on algebraic skills.  One that I played that I like was Spider Integer  The idea is that you are a spider and a number is given such as -1. Then you spend the next minute or so finding flies with the correct number on them so you end up with -1.  You look for -8 + 7 or -3 + 2, click on them and you end up winning when you find the most pairs that equal - 1.  There are other games that have you practicing your addition such as 6(3) - 2(3) and you select the correct answer.  Although some of the games labeled as "Algebra" are not really, they do give students the opportunity to practice such skills as multiplication which they may need.

Try "Who wants to be a hundredaire?" based on the Who wants to be a millionaire TV series.  The questions for this game require students to practice using square roots. The questions require everything from a standard addition or subtraction problem to requiring one to simplify sqrt20.  If they can answer ten questions in a row, they earn $100 pretend dollars. I found it fun.

Mathplayground has a lovely game using an algebra balance.  This gives the students a problem and guides them through the process of solving it step by step.  It is not so much a game as it is a way of practicing solving one or two step equations and really cool.  

So now you have a few games and at least one practice manipulative to help students improve some of their basic skills.  Games are always a good thing to have for students when they need something to do when they finish early.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  In the near future, I'll look at some appropriate geometry games.  Have a great day.