Target O’s And X’s
The setup
Use a deck with the picture cards removed. Fill a tic-tac-toe board with randomly generated numbers from 1 to 20. Use a larger range if you want to include multiplication.
How to play
Deal 6 cards to each player and then flip them all over at the same time. For the first play, it is a race among the two players – the first player to combine two or more of their cards to match one of the squares gets to put an X there and replaces the cards they used. After that, the players take turns putting an X or an O in a chosen square whose value they can match – the cards used for the match are replaced by drawing new ones. If no match can be made, they lose their turn and can choose two of their cards to replace with new ones.
How to win
The first player to get 3 in a row wins.
Helping your child
First and foremost, playing math games should be fun, like any other game your family plays together!
Please let your child make poor plays (mistakes) without correction, and resist the urge to tell them the best ways to play. Bit by bit, your child will get better at the game, and they will learn so much more if you let them figure things out. There is no hurry.
If you see your child make a mistake, ask them to describe why they decided to do what they did. If your child is stuck and doesn’t know which play to make, ask them to describe the pros and cons of their choices, or ask them about how they solved a similar situation in the past. If your child doesn’t remember how to do a calculation, discuss with them the methods they know for figuring it out. These conversations are important for helping your child to develop mathematically.
Through math game play and math conversations, you are helping your child learn to enjoy math and develop important problem solving skills!