60-Second Strategy: Math Attack

Second-grade teacher Kathy-Ann St. Hill-St. Lawrence (or “Ms. Saint,” as she’s affectionately called by her students) is a strong proponent of incorporating movement and games into the classroom in all subjects, but especially math and reading instruction. In her classroom at Harford Heights Elementary in Baltimore, Maryland, she’s found that adding in movement breaks has multiple benefits, like helping students “link what they’re learning to their brain.”

Furthermore, she says, “it gives my kids who need movement a bit of a break, without singling them out to say, ‘OK, hey, take a movement break.’” Having everyone take a movement break ensures that the kids who really need one get it.

Math Attack is a quick movement game that she uses for assessing and reinforcing math skills, but it can be easily adapted for other subjects. Students get three pieces of paper, each with a single-digit number. They ball up their numbers (which doubles as a fine-motor-skills activity), line up on opposite sides of the room, and have a 30-second snowball fight. Students then pick up three snowballs, unwrap them, and create different two- or three-digit numbers from the numbers they’ve picked up—for example, if a student picks up the numbers 4, 5, and 7, they could create numbers like 47, 75, 457, and so on. They then proceed to do various math problems using their new numbers. One of the reasons Ms. Saint finds it so useful is that it can be used for “whatever skill you’re trying to work on” (in this instance,  regrouping with addition and subtraction).

The game also allows for scaffolding. Students who are still working on adding and subtracting two-digit numbers get to keep working on that skill, while students who need more challenge can opt to work with three-digit numbers.

Regardless of what math problems students are tackling, Ms. Saint finds they are much more able to focus after a round of this quick and fun game.

For more math games for elementary students, check out Kristin Raia’s article for Edutopia, “5 Rich Math Activities That Elementary School Teachers Can Use Anytime.”