Third graders learn by playing, and math games are a great way to practice math facts and number sense, and also build social skills like flexibility, persistence, and patience. 

For homework, many students recently built their own math games featuring multiplication facts, cards, dice, velcro, maps – and of course a healthy dose of creativity! Once complete, they invited 4th graders to play the games and offer feedback on the design. The 4th graders were considered seasoned veterans because they had been through the same game design process the previous year.

Expert feedback is an important part of the process. The project began with a visit from Chris Nelson (husband of 3rd grade teacher Katie) who is an accomplished game designer to share tips. It was encouraging to the teachers to see how the fourth grade feedback echoed his initial advice, and wonderful to observe how 3rd graders integrated his tips into their ambitious game designs.