A Game for Practicing Even and Odd Numbers

I am a little frustrated with the math program I am using with my first graders. While I think there is a ton of great learning and good activities in the book, there are a few problems.  One of my main concerns is the fact that concepts such as telling time and money do not even come up until nearly the end of the school year. I feel that first graders are ready, if not for mastery, for an introduction earlier in the school year. Another lacking concept is odd and even numbers. To me odd and even numbers are so basic and really are an important part of building number sense in young children.  So this week I put the book aside and did a whole bunch of lessons and activities to teach odd and even numbers to my kiddos.   They loved it and picked it up very easily.  In a later post, I will describe some of the other things we did, but in this post, I am sharing a board game for practicing odd and even numbers.

Evens and Odds: A Number Game

This game is pretty straightforward. Students are asked to recognize odd and even numbers and move along the game board accordingly.

Materials:

Game board

Playing pieces

One die or the included cards

Note: There are two versions. One version is for using a die and the other is for using the cards.  Either is fine and the game works the same way for both.

If you are going to use a die to play, I suggest using a 9 sided die. This way students get practice using the digits to 9. A six sided die would work as well as would a 12, 20 or 50 sided die!  Students can even roll two 6 sided dice and add them together to play.

9 Sided dice shown below:

Cards shown below:

Print the templates. Cut out the cards if you are using them and you are ready to have your students play Odds and Evens!

To Play

Player One rolls the die or chooses a card. If the card/die shows an odd number, the player moves ahead one space. If the card shows an even number, the player moves ahead two spaces. The games continues this way until one player reaches “end” or all players have done so.

If a player lands on a space with writing, he does what the writing tells him to do.

If the writing on the space says, “Roll/Pick an even number and lose a turn,” the player rolls/picks a card and if that card is even, he loses a turn. If the card is an odd number, he stays there for his next turn.

That’s it. Pretty simple, but a great tool for students to independently practice odd and even numbers. And, don’t forget to have the manipulatives handy for kids who need a little extra help!

* * * * * * *

This game can be found at the following link:

A Game for Practicing Even and Odd from Boy Mama Teacher Mama

* * * * * * *

* * * * * * *

AFTER SCHOOL LINK UP

Love these ideas from last week’s After School Linky:

Paper Plate Flying Eagle from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational 

Books about Chickens from Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes

Birds with Nests from Dabbling Momma

Books about Birds from Boy Mama Teacher Mama

The After School Link Up is a great place to share ideas and to find new ideas to do with your children after school or in your homeschool.  The After School Link Up goes live every Monday. So, if you are a blogger, an educator or just some one looking for some good ideas, be sure to stop by Boy Mama Teacher Mama (or the other co-hosts) on Mondays and see what others have to share.

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children’s lives after their day at school, homeschool or on the weekend! When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our After School button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up you’re giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board or Feature on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks!

2013 After School Party HOSTS

If this is your first time visiting Boy Mama Teacher Mama, welcome!  Did you know that you can also find us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and G+? Stop by to see what is happening!

© Boy Mama Teacher Mama 2014

All Rights Reserved