Christmas time and the holiday seasons are a GREAT time to use excitement as a major motivator! Truly – ANY excuse to practice multiplication facts is wonderful and very necessary!
We all know how very, very, very, very, very important it is for our students to learn their multiplication facts. I know your heads are nodding in agreement. How can we motivate our students to study and learn multiplication facts?????
Many of my students are struggling to learn multiplication facts despite my repeated efforts. We use interactive games on the Smartboard, iPad games and apps, time tests, beat-your-own-time challenges, spinners, dice, etc.
I’m forever on the lookout for fun, new ways to learn and practice. I wanted something new to keep them focused on facts with Christmas approaching.
So here is another fun activity to keep the learning fresh! And dice are ALWAYS fun!
Here are some pictures of the game boards. My students haven’t used it yet, since I just created it, and it just wasn’t cool to play Christmas games before Thanksgiving!
Notice the dice options. Two twelve-sided dice work best for this game, but regular dice can be used by covering the numbers with stickers and writing new numbers on them (like I did with the orange dice above. IPad apps allow you to “roll” dice, which is also fun for students.
I like this game for many reasons – one is that it creates “safe” learning for students working on fact memorization. The answers are right there on the page, which means that they don’t have to remember the products themselves – the choices on the ornaments gently remind them.
One student can play by himself, or two players can compete by using two different game cards.
This game is great for individual students, in centers, small groups, early finishers, guided math, indoor recesses, and to be sent home with students for practice.
Anything that helps with fact memorization (and is FUN!!) is a winner, in my opinion! Here is a link to this game:
Christmas Multiplication Facts Dice Game – Print and Play!
Take care, and come back again!
