Addition Center

Welcome Back Guys!!
This week I came across an awesome addition game that can be used to engage students in mathematics and the addition operation.

The name of the game is called RACE TO THE SUM : A MULTI DIGIT ADDITION GAME

Materials Needed:

• 30 round magnets
• (can be purchased from amazon)
• Round Labels
• (Dollar Tree has a pack of 315 colorful labels for $10
• Cookie Sheets
• Timer

Setting up the game:

1.Game pages here: 

2. Print the image you would like to use. You'll need one game board (1/2 page) for each 2 player game. I recommend that you laminate the game board so that you can use it over and over again.

 3. Prepare the magnets by placing a round sticker label on one side of each magnet. Then, label each magnet with the numbers 0-9. You should have three magnets with each number.

Playing the game: 

Object of the game: To be the first player to earn 15 points

Number of Players: 2

1. Each player takes a game page and places it on his/ her end of the cookie sheet

2. Players turn all of the magnets over so that the numbers are not showing and mix them up.

3. Each player randomly selects 10 magnets and keeps them face-down.

4. Players set the timer for 2 minutes (note that this time can be adjusted to better fit your students).

5. As soon as both players are ready, they start the timer and flip over their magnets to reveal their digits.

6. Players work as quickly as possible on their own game board to fill in the boxes to create a correct addition equation. When the timer ends, both players stop working.
Note: A player does not need to use all 10 magnets to create the equation. If the best equation that a player can make is a 2-digit + 2-digit equation, that's okay. The player's goal should be to have a completed equation by the end of the 2 minutes. However, the more magnets that he/she is able to use, the more likely it is that he/she will receive points during scoring.

Scoring the game:
​When time is up, both players share and check their addition equations. Then, they tally up their points. The maximum number of points that any one player can receive in a round is 5 points.
1 point is awarded to each player who has created a correct addition equation, regardless of how many magnets used.
2 points are awarded to the player who created the equation with the greatest sum. 2 bonus points are awarded to any player who used all of his/her magnets.

In the example above, Player A's sum is 560 and Player B's sum is 822. Player A receives 1 point for having a correct equation. Player B receives 1 point for having a correct equation and 2 points for having the greatest sum, for a total of 3 points. No players used all of their magnets.
Players record their points on a piece of paper and then begin another round of play. The first player to reach 15 points wins the game!

Reflection:
What I have come to love about this activity is the kids enjoyment of doing it. I have tried this with my students and they really get into. It makes it a friendly competition amongst the classmates. Games like this will assist students in building their fluency and quickness in addition. It also gets them to play with numbers. It leaves a lot of room for differentiation and focusing on certain facts. My next goal is to attempt the same activity but with multiplication. My goal is to always have kids learn while having fun.