The Alligator Game - Greater or Less Than

To compare decimals, fractions & percent

However...it would be great for any skill that requires comparing of numbers...

I used a blue file folder, added a picture of an alligator, and white circle stickers as a path. On the path spaces I wrote the signs for greater than, less than, and equals.

WHY AN ALLIGATOR? Our math book should a cute little bird with its open mouth. The greater than or less than sign was the birds mouth.

The open end of the greater than or less than sign is always towards the larger number. However, the year I made this I had a large percent of boys in my class and when I mentioned an alligator's open mouth, I got their attention...LOL...so the alligator on our gameboard!

To play, a player will draw a card, decide the relationship of the first number to the second and move to the next space with the appropriate symbol.

The cards have things like: .4 ___ .04, .71 _____.8, etc...for
decimal practice.

Another set of cards I made had: 3/4 ____ 3/12, 4/6
___2/3, etc. for fractions.

This board could be used for so many other math skills as well. For example:

1 week ______ 8 days

17 ounces _____ 1 pound

3.75 ____ 3 3/4

1.5 ____ 150%

IV ______ X

5 + 4 ______ 3 + 6

59 - 17 _____ 47 - 5

Or even for other classes:

Population of Texas _____Population of Wisconsin

Length of robin ______ length of gold finch

Revolutionary War ______ Civil War (The children had the open end to the later date.) This is a great way to help them get events in order without having to necessarily remember exact dates. So they would read their card as "Revolutionary War was earlier or before (rather than later than or after) the Civil War.


ANSWER KEY: To make it so children could play without a parent/teacher, provide an answer key. However, I preferred to just write the correct answer on the reverse of the question card. The question cards were in the pile, face up. After a child gave the response, the card could be turned over to verify the answer. This saves from lost answer keys, and is a much easier way of checking. 

There is a cute little song on YouTube that can be used when introducing Greater Than/Less Than. Check out the Number Eating Alligator Song.

Numerical Order - A Card Game

Deal out 3 - 10 cards to each player. 

Say "Go!"

Players place their cards in a row face-up on the table. 

Then players rearrange their cards, in order from lowest to highest (left to right). 

Because we are playing with limited numbers here, players may get duplicates or more of one number. Same numbers are placed on top of each other.

When a player has his cards in order, he shouts, "In Order!" and all players must stop. His cards are checked. If he has them correctly arranged, he scores 10 points for the round. If incorrect, he scores zero and all other players count their points.

Other player points are scored by starting at the left and giving one point for each card that is in correct order. When a misplaced card is reached, scoring ends. For example: If the player had out the numbers 1, 5, 7, 6, 9, 14, 15, 18, he would score 3 points for the first three cards are in correct order. Even though most of the rest of the cards are in correct order, scoring would end at the 6 which is incorrectly placed.

Play for 10 rounds (or any other agreed upon number of rounds) keeping a total of points scored.

VARIATIONS

1.  Deal 3 cards the first round, 4 the second, 5 the third and continue to 10 (or even 15) cards.

2. Use fractions, mixed numbers, decimals instead of whole numbers.

3. Have math facts on the cards. Arrange the cards by their correct answer.

4. Use much larger numbers, such as thousands, ten thousand, hundred thousands, or even millions.

5. Play with a scoring variation. If playing with fractions, give fractional points. (If there are six cards in play and a player completes the order, he would score one point. If he had 3 cards in order, he would score 3/6 or reduce it to 1/2. This would give the players some good practice in addition of fractions, especially if a different number of cards is dealt each time, thus giving different denominators.)  Get creative with the scoring for great math practice!

Easy as Pie - Fractions

Here is a fun game for introducing fractions or seeing how fractions are equivalent.

To Make:

Cut two large circles and two large squares to be the playing boards. Set these aside. Now cut 3 more of each. All circles should be the same size. It is nice to have these each be a different color. Cut one of these circles into half, one into thirds, and one into sixths. Cut the squares (all the same size) into half, quarters, and eighths. Write the fractions on each piece.

Cut an additional circle to be the spinner. Divide it into eight sections and mark them as shown in the picture. We like to use a clear plastic spinner laid on top and fastened with a brad instead of adding an arrow to the spinner. This plastic spinner works so well. We take it off when the game is over so we can use it on the spinners we have for other games. We got a package of three of these at our local teacher store for about $6. They are well worth the price!!!

To Play:

Each player starts with a blank playing circle and square. The object of the game is to fill each with fractional pieces. 

The fractional pieces have been sorted into piles in the center of play.  In turn, a player spins the spinner and collects the indicated piece. He adds it to his circle or square. If he can't use the piece because he no longer has enough room for it, his turn is over. 

 

If the spinner says he must give back one piece, he selects any piece he wishes and returns it to the center.

Some other possibilities: If a child should spin a fraction and there are no longer any of the indicated pieces in the center, he may collect EQUIVALENT pieces. For example, he spins 1/3 and these pieces are all in use. He may instead collect two 1/6 pieces. We take pieces and lay them on top of each other to help players see that they are equivalent. 

The first player to completely fill both his circle and his square is the winner.