In education, there is a lot of discussion regarding fluency.  NCTM has a position statement that is worth reading.  Students should develop a conceptual understanding through problem solving and derive strategies for determining solutions.  (We have another video on that topic.)

Practice is essential for building fluency.  However, that practice should be engaging and purposeful.  There are many ways to do this through problem solving.  In this episode, however, we will introduce games that involve fluency but also require higher-order thinking skills.  These games are engaging and fun ways to practice fluency!

This is important for students of all ages.  In my experience, many middle school students do not have computational fluency.  Even when they can use a calculator, lack of fluency affects their ability to estimate reasonable solutions.  For example, a student who is attempting to simplify radicals must have a basic knowledge of factors.  We will discuss some games that involve negative numbers for middle school students along with some with only addition and subtraction for younger students.

The first few games involve strategy, while the last few require flexible thinking.  Students love these games!   Muggins and Opps are my favorites, but I really love all of these!  Click on the links below to go directly to the websites.

What are your favorite games that involve both thinking skills and knowledge of basic facts?  Please submit your favorites below!

Muggins!

Product Game and Factor Game

24! Game

Kakooma

Albert’s Insomnia

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