When I was a kid I loved watching the game show The Price is Right. I’ve always been intrigued with money and I love the probability aspect to the games on that show. So, now when my kids look a little lethargic or bored I like to add a Price is Right style game to the mix. One game I use is called Pick a Card. It’s an easy way to spice up math practice with virtually no prep.
This game seems so simple, yet the students get really into it. It consists of having students complete problems and then having a few students pick a card to see who gets the highest number. It’s like everyone gets a little boost of energy or excitement after every question.
Let’s dive into the step by step guide, plus a few variations, in this post. I hope your class loves it as much as mine does.
Materials
-A deck of cards (I prefer the Colossal Game Cards in this post, but any deck will do)
-Task cards or a worksheet
Directions
1st Step-All students answer a question or complete a problem.
2nd Step-Teacher asks questions about the problem or question and the students who answer the questions come to the front of the classroom.
3rd Step-Each student at the front of the room chooses a card. The person with the highest card gets 500 points, the second highest gets 300, the third highest gets 100, and the lowest cards get no points.
4th Step-Repeat steps 1-3 until you run out of time. Student keep track of their points and at the end of the game the person with the most points is the winner.
Tips and Tricks
You can play around with the point values. I like to start with 500, 300, and 100, but the kids love to have 1,000 or sometimes you can go up to 10,000. That variation takes no work and the kids love the novelty.
Instead of having the students pick a card just for themselves you can group the students into teams. You would have 4 teams and then one person from each team picks a card. This gives everyone a chance to be the card picker.
Add a little extra math to the game by having the student who picked the card perform an operation with the card to get the points. An example would be to approximate the square root of the number or square the number. This just adds a little intrigue to the game.
Try it with Task Cards
My doc camera is the one tool I couldn’t live without in my classroom. When we play review games like this I put a task card under the doc cam and students complete their work on a Smart Pal. I have at least one set of task cards for every topic that we learn, making this a no prep activity. All I have to do is grab a set of task cards and put them under the doc cam. And viola, the kids are practicing and engaged.
Here are some of my favorite task cards to use with this game
Equations and Word Problems Task Cards
Cross-Sections of 3D Shapes Activity Bundle
Parallel Lines, Transversals, and Angles in a Triangle
Square Roots and Cube Roots Task Cards
Expanding and Factoring Expressions
8th Grade Math Task Card Bundle
7th Grade Math Task Card Bundle
Try it with Worksheets
If my students need additional practice, or if there’s an aspect of the concept we’re learning that isn’t found in my task cards, then I turn to worksheets. I love that you can take boring worksheets and turn them into something fun. Also, these work great to have on hand when you have sponge time. The Pick a Card game can be up and running in about 10 seconds. I can’t think of a better sponge activity than that.
Websites that offer free worksheets
Math Worksheets For Kids (Not all of them are free, but they have a lot of free worksheets.)
Try the Pick a Card Game in your classroom
To get started all you need to do is grab a deck of cards from your local dollar store or see if any of your colleagues have a deck laying around. Then try this game with your students. They’ll love it and they won’t complain about practicing because they’ll be having fun at the same time. Also, you’ll get to let out your inner Bob Barker (or Drew Carey!) as you play a The Price is Right type game with your class. Win win, right?
Thanks so much for reading! Until next time!
For more low-prep, fun math games check out these posts:
