Place Value Play-Off

Enrichment game for Year 3-7

Here is a simple game requiring some number cards (playing cards work fine with picture cards and 10s removed)

You can play this as a class, or in small groups. You can play along, or just allow them to work independently.

Time to Play: 5-15 minutes Resources: Number Cards, Target Cards or interactive Scratch version on a screen.

Web Version Scratch Link . Slides with Rules and Explanations

Each student starts off with either three, four or five cards. You can choose how difficult to make it. three cards if playing with numbers up to 100, four cards for numbers up to 1,000 and 5 cards for a game up to 10,000.

Each round the students will be set a target or challenge, such as nearest to 300 or biggest even number you can make. The students choose to play the cards face down and when they have all placed their cards down, the students reveal their answer.

Then they compare with their partner or group to see who was closest to the target. You can do this whole class by declaring the target at the front of the class, but actually each student is playing against the person next to them, so they only need to beat them to get a point. Sometimes you could do a whole class comparison – but this generally takes too much time.

After each round (or couple of rounds) Get the students to swap some cards. You can do this in so many ways to keep it interesting:

• Swap two with your neighbour (or three, or four)
• Let your neigbour take one of your cards, and then you take one of theirs
• Give your neighbour a card you least want
• Turn and give a card each to everyone at your desk, then take one from each person at your desk
• Give two cards to a partner, they choose one and give you one back, repeat from their cards
• Mix/shuffle all the cards on your desk and hand them out again

Constantly changing cards means there is less chance for one player to dominate the game.

Choosing the Conditions / Targets

You can choose to use the cards, or if you have a screen, try using my interactive version on Scratch. You can explore reasons why some students chose their number and discuss strategies to help the class get better. Finally you could play a game as Teacher Vs Class. To do this, draw 3/4/5 cards for you and the class. Choose the target and then first, without showing, you lay your cards down. Then turn over the class cards and the class can debate what the best number is to beat you. Finally when they’ve agreed, you can show what you had to see if they won.

Variations

With playing cards there are no zeros, so use a King as a zero to add more complexity. Also you could have a points system between the closest two/three or four players, so they play competitively against each other. Create your own version with decimals – or even fractions!