Math Game Monday: How Close to 100?

This game reinforces the most important model for understanding numerical and algebraic multiplication.

Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children. And one of the best ways for children to enjoy learning is through hands-on play.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s play some math!

How Close to 100?

Math Concepts: area model for multiplication.

Players: two or three.

Equipment: blank hundred chart or graph paper, two six-sided dice, pencil or marker.

The free 50-page PDF Hundred Charts Galore! file features printable 1–100 charts, 0–99 charts, bottom’s-up versions, multiple-chart pages, blank charts, game boards, and more.

How to Play

Print a blank hundred chart for players to share, or mark off 100 squares on your graph paper. The goal of this cooperative game is to color in all the squares on the hundred chart.

On your turn, roll the dice. Color a rectangle with sides that match the numbers rolled.

For example, if you rolled a two and a four, you might color a rectangle with two rows and four squares in each row. Or you could make it four rows tall with two squares in each row. [Can you see how either rectangle shows the product 2 × 4? Can you explain why we say, “To find the area of a rectangle, multiply the length times the width”?]

If you can’t fit your rectangle anywhere on the chart, you have to pass.

The game ends when all players have rolled the dice without being able to color a rectangle.

How close can you get to coloring the whole game board?

Variation

Rectangle Face-Off: Play as above, but players each color rectangles on their own printed chart. Whoever gets closest to filling all their squares wins the game. If you have enough dice to go around, players may all roll at once on each turn.