Grade: 4th
Subject: Math
Expectation(s): Can identify the factors of a number
Materials needed: Factor trail game board (attached), one six-sided die, 2 small objects to use as game
pieces (pennies, buttons, etc..), pencil, paper
Lesson Description: Factor trail game
Explain to your student that you’ll be playing the factor trail game. The rules of the game are very
simple. You move around the game board by rolling the die and landing on numbered spaces. When you
land on a numbered space, you must write down all the factors of that number. If you aren’t able to
write them all down, you must move your game piece back to the previous space.
You can make the game a bit more challenging by requiring each player to add up all the factors of your
number (e.g. if you land on 12, you would add its factors together – 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 6 + 12 = 28). If you
successfully name all the factors, you earn the points equal to the sum of the factors of the number. If
you don’t name all the factors, you do not get points.
Teaching and learning tips/strategies:
• If your student struggles with the game, help them to relate the concept of factors to
multiplication and skip counting (counting by 2s, 3s, 5s, etc). For instance, help them recognize
that 2 is a factor of all even numbers and that 5 is a factor of all numbers that end in 0 or 5.
• Help your student understand the concept of prime numbers – those numbers that only have
themselves and 1 as factors (e.g. 5, 11, 19, 29)
• Don’t forget to praise your student’s effort