Box Cars and One-Eyed Jacks
MATH GAMES FOR TEACHING
NUMBER SENSE, PLACE VALUE
AND OPERATIONS
John Felling
Our Lady of the Assumption School
Atlanta, GA
October 2014
[email protected]
phone 1-866-342-3386 / 1-780-440-6284
fax 1-780-440-1619
boxcarsandoneeyedjacks.com
BoxCarsEduc
BoxcarsEducation
Teaching Tips from Box Cars And One-Eyed Jacks
Box Cars And One-Eyed Jacks Inc.
Organizing Your Cards & Card Management
Use three large buckets (1 gallon or 4 liter each}. Gather a lot of decks of cards. Approximately 1 deck per student
but 1 deck per 3 students is a good start (purchase, donated, brought from home}. The joke "not playing with a full
deck" applies here. We don't play with full decks as it's not important to the math of the games. Full decks are not
necessary when organizing the cards, and not worrying about full decks speeds getting cards out and putting them
away (as seen below) at the beginning and end of classes.
In the first bucket, put your low cards. For example, John likes to put his 1's, 2's, 3's, 4's and 5's. The cards match the
fingers on the hand, keeps sums to 10, products to 25, denominators to 1/5s. On the other hand, Jane likes to have
1's through 6's as this allows matching the cards to a typical 6-sided die. This also allows sums to 12, products to 36
and fraction denominators to 1/6s. The key here is that as teacher, decide what cards go into your buckets based on
your classroom routines.
In the second bucket, put the rest of your single-digit cards. John - 6's, 7's, 8's, 9's, and 0's (Kings for 0 if using a
regular deck). Jane - 7's, 8's, 9's, and 0's (Kings for 0 if using a regular deck). The cards in this bucket along with cards
in the first bucket allow for Place Value (0-9 digits), sums to 18, products to 81 and fraction denominators to 1/9s.
In the last bucket, put everything else- 10's 11's 12s (Jacks for 11, Queens for 12 if using regular decks) and
any wild cards or jokers .
GETTING CARDS OUT
Once a teacher has identified a game and shown how to play,the students are told to get a "small" or "big" handful of
cards from either a specific bucket or buckets
SHUFFLING AND DEALING
Cards are "mushed up" and quickly separated into as many groups as players (typically 2 for 2 players, 3 for 3
players). The player Mushing the cards is the last to pick a pile (piles do not have to be exactly equal. If "winning" is
important, the winner is whoever has the most cards in their "point pile" at the end}.
CLEANING UP
Players quickly place the cards into 3 piles. First pile has 1s 2s 3s 4s and 5s. Second pile has 6s 7s 8s 9s and 0s. Last
pile has 10s 11s 12s Wild Cards,Jokers,etc. The piles are then placed into their corresponding bucket
Organizing Your Dominoes & Dominoes Management
A typical class will need a minimum of one set of dominoes for every two students (about 12 sets). If feasible , 1 set
per student is even better.
First and Foremost Use Dominoes of Different COLORS! This makes it easier to determine each student's or group's
set while playing and when putting dominoes away. If you already have sets of the same color, get an adult (parent?)
volunteer with 6 colors of permanent spray paint. The adult volunteer takes one set, lays them face-down on
newspaper (outside or other well-ventilated area) and sprays the back of the set all one color (for example "green").
The volunteer then takes the other sets and repeats the same process but with a different color for each set until the
first 6 sets are done. The volunteer continues to do sets of 6 in this way until the entire collection of dominoes has
been done.
Keep the dominoes in their sets inside easily opened and closed see-through containers such as Mesh Bags,
Traveling Soap containers, heavy duty sandwich sized freezer bags etc.
2
For each week that the students are using the Dominoes, have the students make sure they have a complete set by
using their set to fill in the Dominoes Outcomes Chart (page 78 in Domino Games - Connecting The Dots, page 77 in
Domino Games - Linking The Learning).
When students are done using the dominoes for the class, have them make stacks of 4 dominoes (a complete set of
28 double-6 dominoes will have 7 stacks). If they have a complete set, they put the dominoes into the container and
then put the container away. If a set is missing a domino, it is important that the teacher knows so it can either be
found or, if all else fails, the container for the set is marked as "incomplete" until a replacement can be found.
Younger students may find it easier to put them into stacks of 2 (14 stacks for a complete set).
Organizing Your Dice & Dice Management
Keep dice that are the same together in one container (for example 0-9 dice in one containe r, + and - dice in
another container, 1-12 dice Iin a third container, etc.). See-through re-sealable Tupperware containers or heavy duty
mid-sized freezer bags work well. One student per group or game gets the dice for the game and returns the dice at
the end of the game.
Have the students roll the dice into their hands! Roll their dice into the "Hockey Net", "Soccer Goal", "Dug out" etc.
In other words the dice rolled by one hand and are blocked from going too far by the other hand. Another effective
example is to have the students roll the dice with both hands, "trap" the dice in both hands and then "hide" the dice
as they fall the 2 cms from their hands onto the playing surface. The roll is "revealed" when they remove their hands
from over the dice.
For noisy dice -roll on somethi ng " soft" Fun Foam, Felt liners or pads, table setting mats etc all work well. In a pinch,
have the students roll on 5-10 sheets of paper stacked on top of each other. The stacked paper muffles a lot of the
sound.
Organizing & Managing Your Dice Trays (36 dice in a tray)
When taking the dice out of the tray. Remove the tray from the bag, turn the tray upside-down (black on top) and
take the black tray off of the clear lid (the dice remain in the lid). The dice are now easily "poured out" of the lid onto
the playing surface.
Play on the floor when possible. The dice don't "fall off' the floor and most students enjoy the experience of
playing on the floor as it gives them room to "spread out".
Have the students roll the dice into their hands! Roll their dice into the "Hockey Net", "Soccer Goal", "Dug Out" etc.
In other words the dice rolled by one hand and are blocked from going too far by the other hand. Another effective
example is to have the students roll the dice with both hands, "trap" the dice in both hands and then "hide" the dice
as they fall the 2 cms from their hands onto the playing surface . The roll is "revealed" when they remove their hands
from over the dice.
For noisy dice - roll on something "soft". Fun Foam, Felt liners or pads, table setting mats etc all work well. In a
pinch, have the students roll on 5-10 sheets of paper stacked on top of each other. The stacked paper muffles a lot of
the sound.
When putting the dice back into the trays at the end of a class have the students start with the lid, using one hand
to "separate" one half of the lid from the other. The students take all of ONE COLOR of the dice and pour them into
ONE HALF of the lid. They spread the dice into the half, "patting down" the dice so the dice are flat and in place. Then
all of the dice of the OTHER COLOR are poured into the other half of the lid. Again, the students "pat down" the dice
so the dice are flat and in place. The black tray is then fitted on to the top of the dice in the lid. The tray is now
complete and can be slipped back into the ziplock bag.
Use rubber bands to separate parts of the tray. This is useful when using the trays for place value and you
want to limit size to less than 100,000 or you want to have a "decimal place".
3
Adding and Subtracting Strategies
With Cards and Dice
1. Adding with Cards
•
•
•
•
•
Counting on
>Addend / bracelets on the left
Fun Foam Mats
Making tens / missing part
+9 visual / -9 extension with manipulatives
2. Subtracting with Cards
• Concrete
• Counting back
• Missing part / fact families
3. Adding with Dice
• Squeezing out the greatest addend "birthday"
• Belly button dice / double regular
• Identify >
• Identify>and name number
• Identify>and count on from>to get the sum
4. Doubles
• Master the doubles
• Nicknames, knocking the doubles out
• Doubles +1, +2, -1, -2
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Box Cars & One-Eyed Jacks inc.
NUMBER LINE WORK
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nine
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ten
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eleven
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twelve
PRIMARY SUPER MUSH
LEVEL:
K–2
SKILLS:
fact fluency, addition facts to 12, number patterns
PLAYERS:
2 (cooperative team)
EQUIPMENT:
GOAL:
1 tray, recording sheet
to fill up the tray with 36 dice matching the selected fact family
GETTING STARTED:
The teacher selects a fact family for teams to work on:
Simple Sixes
Successful Sevens
Easy Eights
Nifty Nines
Terrific Tens
Enormous Elevens
Tremendous Twelves
All dice are removed from the tray and “super mushed” – i.e. scrambled all together and rolled for
about 20 – 30 seconds. The teacher calls stop and the dice are then set for the activity. Together
both players now hunt for combinations of dice that match the set fact family and place them into the
tray.
EXAMPLE:
Round of Easy Eights:
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PRIMARY SUPER MUSH
_________________
_________________
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HORSE RACE - PRIMARY ADDITION
LEVEL:
K-2
SKILLS:
adding to 12, commutative property of addition, fact families
PLAYERS:
2 (1 vs 1)
EQUIPMENT:
GOAL:
tray of dice (each player needs 18 of their own color), gameboard
to have the greatest number of dice on your side of the “racetrack” at the end of the game
GETTING STARTED:
Each player takes 18 dice of one color and picks a side of the dice tray to be their “racetrack”. Each
player picks up a pair of dice, rolls, and calculates their sum. The player with the greatest sum puts
their dice into their side of the racetrack. Both players verbalize their sums.
EXAMPLE:
+ +
= 8
PLAYER ONE
MATH TALK
+
+
=
6
PLAYER TWO
Player One says “8 is a greater sum than 6”
The player with the greatest sum places their dice in their side of the racetrack. The player with the
least sum tosses their dice into the lid.
Players each pick up another pair of dice, roll and compare their next sums. In the event of a
EQUAL SUM – both players put their two dice into their side of the racetrack.
TIE
or
Play continues until both players’ 18 dice have been rolled out. The player with the greatest number
of dice on their side of the racetrack wins.
Level 1 : Addition to 12 - Players roll two
dice and add them
Player One
Player Two
Level 2 : Addition to 18 - Players roll three
dice and add them.
Level 3: Multiplication to 36 - Players roll
two dice and multiply them
Level 4: Multiplication to 72 - Players roll
three dice, choose two to add together,
then multiply the sum by the third.
Add dice to the track
along a curving path
to simulate the race!
8
9
10
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1
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three
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four
Roll 2 dice and add.
Record math sentence above answer.
First to "Reach the Top" wins.
two
one
5
five
6
six
8
eight
9
nine
10
ten
6+2=8
6-2 =4
6÷2=3
6 x 2 = 12
Record all 4.
K's use 1-12 die or spotted 12 sided die.
Can use multi-operations: e.g. roll 6 and 2
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seven
Box Cars & One-Eyed Jacks inc.
Reach For The Top
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eleven
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twelve
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Box Cars & One-Eyed Jacks inc.
0 - 20 Graph©
ADDITION TIC TAC TOE
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Adapted From Dice Works page 44. Use cards 0 (K) through 9. Mix the cards up. Players take turns flipping over two cards at a time.
One card is located at the top, the other is located at the left side. Players trace their fingers from the two numbers to the sum
(answer) on the board. For example 3 and 7 are flipped over. 3 is placed on the top and 7 is placed on the left. The player runs their
left finger along the "7" row and runs their right finger down the "3" column" until they meet at the "10". They place a chip at that
location. The player then switches the cards and places the 7 at the top and the 3 on the left side. The player runs their left finger
along the "3" row and runs their right finger down the "7" column until they meet at "10". They place a chip at that location. Most
turns will have players place two chips. Players continue to alternate turns until one player places a chip that completes 3-in-a-row, 4in-a-row or 5-in-row Tic Tac Toe. When this happens, the player removes the chips for that Tic Tac Toe and places them into their
"point pile". Tic Tac Toes usually occur two at a time. Stealing points - If a player has a turn where an answer already has a chip on
it, the player.removes that chip, places it into their point pile and then places a new chip on the answer. For example, if a player
flipped a 3 and 7 and the 10 answer already has a chip on it.
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Multiplication Board
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Box Cars & One-Eyed Jacks inc
Multiplication Tic Tac Toe
Player one rolls 2 x 0-9 or 2 x 1-12 dice and finds the product (eg 4x6=24; 6x4=24)
Cover spaces with bingo chips (one space only would be covered if doubles are rolled)
Player Two takes their turn. Players continue to alternate turns
Build Tic Tac Toe, three or more in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally
One point per chip and remove from board so spaces are open again
Roll your partner's space and capture for 2 points per chip
Play for a set period of time
13
MULTIPLICATION SCRAMBLE
From "Dice Works" page 69. Roll two special 1-12 dice at a time. Multiply the factors, place the math sentence
on the appropriate space on your side. If the space is already filled, then no space is filled in for that turn. First
player to fill in their side is the winner.
0 - 9
0 - 9
10 - 19
10 - 19
20 - 29
20 - 29
30 - 39
30 - 39
40 - 49
40 - 49
50 - 59
50 - 59
60 - 69
60 - 69
70 - 79
70 - 79
80 - 89
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90 - 99
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100 - 109
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110 - 119
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120 - 129
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140 - 149
THE BIG ROUND UP
From "Dice Works" page 72. Roll two special 1-12 dice at a time. Multiply the factors and round the product to the nearest
10's place. Circle the answer on your row. If the space is already filled, then no answer is circled for that turn. First player
to fill in their side is the winner.
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Place Value 
Teaching Tips 
 Games support the instruction of place value concepts with baseten manipulatives.
 Always sit players side by side so they are reading numbers
properly; use tens bracelets, thousands bracelets, playing mats / fun
foam for building place values.
 For cards, sort out all tens, Jacks, Queens and Kings and use
cards from 0-9 only.
 Place Value dice come in a variety of values which you can
use to build differentiation and a variety of concepts into your
instruction.
 Use number lines: 0 - 9, 0-100, or tape ten together for a 0-1000
line.
 Use chunking place value strategies with regular dice or in 3in-a-cube dice.
 Foam mats/ Dry Erase Boards
16
Betweeners
© Box Cars And One-Eyed Jacks.
4 Player Version – Highest doesn't win. Lowest doesn't win. The two between numbers win.
Betweeners
Variation of Betweeners From Math Attack © Box Cars And One-Eyed Jacks
Concepts: Number Sense, Ordering Numbers (whole and decimal)
Equipment: One 3inCube die / player
Goal/Object: record a number that is between the highest and lowest for the round
Traditional- Each player shakes their own 3inCube die and secretly looks at it, mentally determining the
possible answers they could use. Each player then secretly records one of their possible answers. Once all
the players have recorded their answer, they reveal it to the other players. All players copy all other players'
answers onto their own score sheet. The answers are compared, lowest doesn't win, highest doesn't win,
between number (or numbers if 4 player game) wins.
Variations:
(1) Players are allowed to create numbers with decimals meaning answers can range from 0.111 to 666.
(2) Players create multi-operation math sentences trying to have the between answer example 3+2x1=5
(3) Players create mixed fractions example 3 2 1 makes 3½ or 1⅔ or 2⅓ 2 1 1 can only make 1½
(4) For simpler version of the game, each player can use a 1-12 die ( or 1-20 die/player or 1-30 die/player )
(5) Division: Make 2-digit number, divide it by the remaining number. (Rolled 2, 3, 5 made 35 ÷ 2 = 17.5)
17
Place Value Patterns
Students typically begin pattern work in the early primary grades and it often remains a
challenge throughout their elementary years. Pattern counting is an excellent way to
practice place value and explore number patterns. When doing this activity with students,
it is best to go through several examples, and allow for plenty of practice.
To Model:
Roll a decade die (00-90) and a ones (0-9) die. Example : 60 + 8 = 68
Players now verbalize a plus
(+) 1 pattern
68, 69, 70, 71.
Players now verbalize a minus
(-)
1 pattern
68, 67, 66, 65.
Players now verbalize a plus
(+) 2 pattern
68, 70, 72, 74.
Players now verbalize a plus
(+) 10 pattern
68, 78, 88, 98.
Players now verbalize a plus
(+) 5 pattern
68, 73, 78, 83.
Any additional numeric patterns can be introduced once the students are ready. Using a
hundreds board with this activity may be beneficial as students will begin to see and
understand the patterns that appear. This will extend into addition and subtraction
strategies once 2-digit concepts are introduced.
Once players have mastered these patterns, more complex scenarios can be introduced
and practiced.
Roll a hundreds die (000-900), decade die (00-90) and a ones (0-9) die.
Example 300 + 20 + 4 = 324
Players now verbalize a plus
(+) 1 pattern
324, 325, 326, 327.
Players now verbalize a plus
(+) 10 pattern
324, 334, 344, 354.
Players now verbalize a minus
(-) 10 pattern
324, 314, 304, 294.
Players now verbalize a plus
(+) 50 pattern
324, 374, 424, 474.
Players now verbalize a minus
(-) 50 pattern
324, 274, 224, 174.
The bonus to students rolling dice is that combinations will come up where they must make
logical predictions and expand their knowledge of number sense.
These place value activities can be explored using decimal dice as well.
Teaching Tip: Players can record all of their patterns for future practice.
18
Hundred
Board
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Hundred Board Tic Tac Toe
Player one rolls 2 0-9 dice and builds a ten's/one's number.
Covers the space on the board with a bingo chip. eg 62 and/or 26
Player two takes their turn6
BBuild Tic Tac Toe three in a row, horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
One point per chip.
Roll your partner's space and capture for 2 points per chip.
19
ROLL ON PLACE VALUE – PRIMARY
ROLLS
ROUND ONE
PLAYER
ONE
ROUND TWO
PLAYER
ONE
ROUND THREE
HUNDREDS
PLAYER
ONE
TENS
STANDARD FORM
ONES
HUNDREDS
TENS
ONES
PLAYER
TWO
PLAYER
TWO
PLAYER
TWO
20
ROUND ONE
PLAYER
ONE
ROUND TWO
PLAYER
ONE
ROUND THREE
ROLL ON PLACE VALUE
PLAYER
ONE
PLAYER
TWO
PLAYER
TWO
PLAYER
TWO
Roll on Place Value (from Stratedice)
The goal of the game is to create the largest number. Players take turns rolling a die, placing it into the tray and
announcing its place value for that roll. After 6 rolls, players compare numbers. A point is earned by the player
with the largest number. A Place Value Systems die is rolled to identify a specific place value (for example 100's)
A second point is earned by the player with the highest value in that place. A third "upside down" bonus point is
awarded to the player with the biggest number when the tray is turned upside down and the numbers are
compared.
21
ROCK & ROLL
ROLL REGULAR DICE TO BUILD PLACE VALUE AS FOLLOWS
2 DICE:
TENS /
ONES
HUNDREDS /
TENS /
ONES
THOUSANDS /
HUNDREDS /
TENS /
ONES
TEN THOUSANDS /
THOUSANDS /
HUNDREDS /
TENS /
ONES
TEN THOUSANDS /
THOUSANDS /
HUNDREDS /
TENS /
ONES
3 DICE:
4 DICE:
5 DICE:
6 DICE:
HUNDRED THOUSANDS /
Roll dice, arrange for greatest possible number
First to call ROCK & ROLL scores 5 POINTS
All other players must freeze their dice when ROCK & ROLL is called.
If a player's number is greater than the player who called ROCK & ROLL, they also get 5 POINTS
ROLL
NUMBER
EXPANDED NUMBER
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By:
23
Table of Contents
GAME
NUMBER
GAME NAME
CONCEPTS COVERED
24
Math Glossary
WORD
MEANING OR EXAMPLE
25
Game Number:
Title:
Players:
Skills:
Equipment:
How to Play:
Goal:
26
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
5. Free Choice*
4. Small Group Game
3. Solitaire Game
2. Partner Game
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
INDEPENDENT LEARNING STATIONS
Small Group Lessons
Tuesday
Wednesday
1. Math Manipulatives Practice
Differentiate
Guided
Practice
Whole
Group
Whole Group
Monday
Whole Group PIan
Group 4 Members __________________________________
Group 3 Members ________________________________________
Group 2 Members ________________________________________
Small Group
Instructional
Focus
Friday
Thursday
Assessment Piece
Whole Group Debrief
Concepts for Learning/Reviewing
Curriculum Standard: ___________________________________
Group 1 Members ________________________________________
Concepts: ___________________________________
MATH PLAN FOR THE WEEK(S) OF : _______________________________
27