by Josh Rappaport
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve often sensed that of the four “solid” subjects, people generally find math the most serious. After all, the subject of English offers the pleasure of poetry and the fancies of fiction, science boasts the playfulness of experimentation, and social studies delights through stories that stir the imagination: battles, voyages, great feats.
But math … fun? Lighthearted? Playful? The words I hear people use to describe math are “dry,” “definite,” perhaps “solid and certain.” But not fun.
All the more reason for us to turn that attitude around as we homeschool. And what better way to do that than by incorporating games in our approach to math.
Through both the internet and the modern focus on multicultural awareness, homeschoolers now have quick access to stimulating math games from all over the world. So in this article I’d like to make you aware of some of these games and also discuss how playing games can foster mathematical thinking.
First, consider games that don’t teach math directly, but rather help students get practice in logical thinking, a good thing in itself but something that also helps them become stronger students of math. Examples are the traditional board games of chess and checkers, but if those don’t appeal to your children (and they don’t appeal to everyone), there are engaging board games from other places and cultures.
The board game of Go, for example, highly popular in Asia, has recently started taking off in the United States as well. My son got interested in Go when he was about 9, and played it intensely until age 14. For info on Go, visit the home of the American Go Association. There you’ll find the history of Go, game rules, and information on how to get started playing. Once oriented, you can sign up online, get a rating, and start playing through this very website.
Another great board game — one invented independently by two mathematicians, in fact — is Hex. One of the game’s inventors was John Nash, the brilliant mind featured in the movie by the same name. To learn how to play Hex, visit the site at the end of this article, which contains an “applet” that lets you play online. Hex is a game that I’ve found children generally take to quickly, since the rules are easy to understand, and the game itself encourages a fast style of play. Games of Hex are also quick, so you can play a lot of games in a short time. And that adds to the fun.
Beyond the big, well known board games, there are all kinds of easy-to-learn, interesting math games from over the world. One book filled with such games is Math Around the World, by the Lawrence Hall of Science. This book is based on the experience of a group of educators who created “games night” events at schools. The book offers a wealth of information on a wide variety of games that involve mathematical thinking, from four continents. You can use this book to host a games night for homeschoolers. It might even become a regular event, as happened when my family hosted a local games night a few years ago.
Through playing such games, children get a chance to explore mathematical concepts informally. For example, the games of Go and Hex encourage students to explore concepts of geometry, without being taught these concepts in a formal, academic way. From my experience teaching and tutoring, I believe there’s great value in gaining a sense of comfort in exploring ideas in this way. When I tutor, I notice that students who are unafraid of exploring concepts generally learn math quickly. That’s because a big part of learning math involves playing with ideas, tossing them around in one’s mind. Playing games stimulates this ability, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it helps people in more areas than just math.
I’d also like to recommend another resource for games: a book called Math Games & Activities from Around the World, by Chicago Review Press. This book is a great resource for games that are quick and easy to set up, and it presents games from all over the planet. One thing I particularly enjoy about this book is that its table of contents categorizes the games in such a way that you end up learning many versions of the same general type of game. For example, one chapter describes “Three-in-a-row” games, another focuses on games of chance, a third chapter features games of transfer (like Mancala), while still another section deals with “puzzles.” So if you get tired of one type of game, just go to the next chapter, and you’ll learn about a completely different type of game.
Finally, no article on math and games would be complete without mentioning what has come to be known as a classic in the area of making math more human, more enjoyable: And that is the book called Family Math, also by the Lawrence Hall of Science. This book not only features a variety of games, it also offers suggestions for art projects that are fun and which also make use of mathematical thinking. Beyond that, Family Math features games and activities that are fun for the whole family that relate to (I’m quoting from the back of the book, but it’s accurate): “word problems, logical reasoning, measurement, geometry, spatial thinking, probability, statistics, calculators, estimation, arithmetic, and others.”
I hope I’ve provided a variety of resources that can get you started — or further along — in bringing out the fun side of math. Hopefully if we emphasize these aspects of math, the next generation will see math as both important — and fun!
Two links to help you explore topics in this article: Home of the American Go Association and a site where you can play Hex online.
Josh Rappaport lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico, along with his wife and two children, now teens. Josh is the author of the briskly-selling Algebra Survival Guide, and companion Algebra Survival Guide Workbook. Josh is also the author of the Card Game Roundup books, and PreAlgebra Blastoff!, a playful approach to positive and negative numbers. Josh is currently working on Geometry Survival Flash Cards, a colorful approach to learning the key facts of geometry.
At his blog, www.mathchat.wordpress.com, Josh writes about the “nuts-and-bolts” of teaching math. Josh also leads workshops on math education at homeschooling conferences., and tutors homeschoolers using SKYPE. You can reach Josh at: josh@SingingTurtle.com
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve often sensed that of the four “solid” subjects, people generally find math the most serious. After all, the subject of English offers the pleasure of poetry and the fancies of fiction, science boasts the playfulness of experimentation, and social studies delights through stories that stir the imagination: battles, voyages, great feats.
But math … fun? Lighthearted? Playful? The words I hear people use to describe math are “dry,” “definite,” perhaps “solid and certain.” But not fun.
All the more reason for us to turn that attitude around as we homeschool. And what better way to do that than by incorporating games in our approach to math.
Through both the internet and the modern focus on multicultural awareness, homeschoolers now have quick access to stimulating math games from all over the world. So in this article I’d like to make you aware of some of these games and also discuss how playing games can foster mathematical thinking.
First, consider games that don’t teach math directly, but rather help students get practice in logical thinking, a good thing in itself but something that also helps them become stronger students of math. Examples are the traditional board games of chess and checkers, but if those don’t appeal to your children (and they don’t appeal to everyone), there are engaging board games from other places and cultures.
The board game of Go, for example, highly popular in Asia, has recently started taking off in the United States as well. My son got interested in Go when he was about 9, and played it intensely until age 14. For info on Go, visit the home of the American Go Association. There you’ll find the history of Go, game rules, and information on how to get started playing. Once oriented, you can sign up online, get a rating, and start playing through this very website.
Another great board game — one invented independently by two mathematicians, in fact — is Hex. One of the game’s inventors was John Nash, the brilliant mind featured in the movie by the same name. To learn how to play Hex, visit the site at the end of this article, which contains an “applet” that lets you play online. Hex is a game that I’ve found children generally take to quickly, since the rules are easy to understand, and the game itself encourages a fast style of play. Games of Hex are also quick, so you can play a lot of games in a short time. And that adds to the fun.
Beyond the big, well known board games, there are all kinds of easy-to-learn, interesting math games from over the world. One book filled with such games is Math Around the World, by the Lawrence Hall of Science. This book is based on the experience of a group of educators who created “games night” events at schools. The book offers a wealth of information on a wide variety of games that involve mathematical thinking, from four continents. You can use this book to host a games night for homeschoolers. It might even become a regular event, as happened when my family hosted a local games night a few years ago.
Through playing such games, children get a chance to explore mathematical concepts informally. For example, the games of Go and Hex encourage students to explore concepts of geometry, without being taught these concepts in a formal, academic way. From my experience teaching and tutoring, I believe there’s great value in gaining a sense of comfort in exploring ideas in this way. When I tutor, I notice that students who are unafraid of exploring concepts generally learn math quickly. That’s because a big part of learning math involves playing with ideas, tossing them around in one’s mind. Playing games stimulates this ability, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it helps people in more areas than just math.
I’d also like to recommend another resource for games: a book called Math Games & Activities from Around the World, by Chicago Review Press. This book is a great resource for games that are quick and easy to set up, and it presents games from all over the planet. One thing I particularly enjoy about this book is that its table of contents categorizes the games in such a way that you end up learning many versions of the same general type of game. For example, one chapter describes “Three-in-a-row” games, another focuses on games of chance, a third chapter features games of transfer (like Mancala), while still another section deals with “puzzles.” So if you get tired of one type of game, just go to the next chapter, and you’ll learn about a completely different type of game.
Finally, no article on math and games would be complete without mentioning what has come to be known as a classic in the area of making math more human, more enjoyable: And that is the book called Family Math, also by the Lawrence Hall of Science. This book not only features a variety of games, it also offers suggestions for art projects that are fun and which also make use of mathematical thinking. Beyond that, Family Math features games and activities that are fun for the whole family that relate to (I’m quoting from the back of the book, but it’s accurate): “word problems, logical reasoning, measurement, geometry, spatial thinking, probability, statistics, calculators, estimation, arithmetic, and others.”
I hope I’ve provided a variety of resources that can get you started — or further along — in bringing out the fun side of math. Hopefully if we emphasize these aspects of math, the next generation will see math as both important — and fun!
Two links to help you explore topics in this article: Home of the American Go Association and a site where you can play Hex online.
Josh Rappaport lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico, along with his wife and two children, now teens. Josh is the author of the briskly-selling Algebra Survival Guide, and companion Algebra Survival Guide Workbook. Josh is also the author of the Card Game Roundup books, and PreAlgebra Blastoff!, a playful approach to positive and negative numbers. Josh is currently working on Geometry Survival Flash Cards, a colorful approach to learning the key facts of geometry.
At his blog, www.mathchat.wordpress.com, Josh writes about the “nuts-and-bolts” of teaching math. Josh also leads workshops on math education at homeschooling conferences., and tutors homeschoolers using SKYPE. You can reach Josh at: josh@SingingTurtle.com
