PROOF!

We looooooove math games in my classroom! Literally every time I say we are playing math games I am met with cries of joy from 14 sixth graders (no, really!)

One of our current favourites is Proof! We play this game during our Guided Math stations (which I will talk about in another blog post and link here... one day!).

Basic game play: set up a 3x3 array (see? math is everywhere) of cards like this:

Then, race against your opponents to be the first one to find a viable equation within the cards! Once you find one, say the ANSWER to the equation. Then you are tasked with providing the PROOF to show your answer is correct!

For example, if I say "Seven!" I would then show that 3 + 4 = 7. Alternatively, I could have said "Four!" and shown that 7 - 3 = 4.

You can't reuse a card, so I couldn't, for example, say "Zero!" and then "64 x 0 = 0". That's no bueno, as we say.

I could be extra spicy and say "Sixty-four!" and show that 82 - 18 = 64.

If my proof is wrong, like if I said that 3 x 7 x 4 = 82 (it's actually 84) then that would be no bueno, and I wouldn't win that proof. (But oh yeah, you can TOTALLY use multiple multiples if you want... see what I did there?)

When you win a proof you get to keep all the cards you used!

Whoever has the most cards at the end is the winner!

I love this game because it is engaging, but it CAN be really stressful for kiddos because it is competitive and it depends on being fast (not always the most inspiring way to do mathematics). As always it is important to know your kiddos and be aware that this game might not be for them! If that is the case, another game I recommend that doesn't require speed (in addition to accuracy) is Ono99 (a blog post for another day!)

With great fortitude,

-M💗