This is Pac- Man, the board game. I remember not only trying
to outwit the ghosts that my siblings controlled but also strategically
gobbling up marbles. With the roll of the two dice, I moved my Pac-Man along the
rows as well as the ghost of my choosing. Despite the fact that my brother loved to win and coulddn't stand losing, we always had a great time gobbling up marbles. Not only did the fate of my brothers rested in the
luck of my roll, but I was also learning an important
strategy in adding and subtracting.
This game
and other board games that use movement in terms of counting and moving pieces a specific
number of spaces have a cousin in the number line. When I first encountered the
number line in college, it felt like an old friend. In terms of board games, if my starting point is 5
and I am moving (adding) 6 spaces, I end up at 11. If I was unfortunate enough
to move 3 spaces back from 5, I know that I will end at the number 2.
The number line also helps students see the
addition and/ or subtraction in action. Here is a video that addresses addition along a number line.
This strategy not only assists students by providing a neat activity, but also helps students with mental math as they see the spaces traveled between numbers. Students can also move along a number line taped to the floor and "feel" the number of spaces moved. Moving from the number 5 to the number 11 as we add 6 spaces feels very different as we manipulate tokens or our feet along the number line. Playing with the number line has been fun for me as a college student and I see how students benefit from working with it. Here are some additional resources and games:
Resources:
Games:
Another resource to consider: Addition with the Number Line - http://www.dadsworksheets.com/worksheets/preschool-and-kindergarten-addition-with-the-number-line.html
ReplyDeleteAddition with the Number Line