Cards

When I was a camp counselor for 12-13 year old boys during the summers, I’d host epic blackjack tournaments in our cabin and let the boys wager candy that I had distributed to them. They’d want to eat it right away, but that universal pull would give them pause: If I bet it, I could win more. Adolescent boys are purveyors of hope; they always bet. And despite the eventual victory of the house/cabin, those evening tourneys were often the highlights of camp. Other counselors would come to join and egg-on the boys. “One tootsie pop?! You gotta bet big to win big, fellas!” Though teaching math principles wasn’t the goal, I’m sure the boys took home some valuable lessons in probability, as well as improbability. “Sure, 19’s a decent hand, but what if the next card’s a two?”

In my tutoring work, the cards have carried over. Most boys love competition, and cards help bring that feel. I carry a large Indiana Jones-like satchel, which I keep stocked with pencils and pens and those stick-on binder hole repair circles, but really the main value in the bag is my deck of cards and my pack of gum.

Here are the various games I use and the skills that they hone, in ascending order of at-home benefit:

Flashcards (addition, subtraction, multiplication)
This is not a game, just flashcards using a deck of cards. Why buy a deck of flashcards that isn’t good for anything else when a deck of cards works just as well? I throw down two cards and the student adds or multiplies them out. If they get one wrong I’ll help them, then come back to it after they get some other ones right. It’s an intense workout, so I usually just do it for 5-7 minutes (which may be several runs through the deck).

Slapjack (addition, subtraction, or multiplication)
This game is all reflexes. Players put down cards on top of one another in quick succession. Any jack gets slapped, as does any pair. Whoever slaps first wins the pile. The twist I use is adding a slap for any two consecutive cards that add up to a certain number (like 9), subtract to a certain number (like 3), or multiply out to a certain number (also a nice way to teach factors if you choose a number with multiple sets of factors (24, 40, 48, etc.)).

War (subtraction)
Simple and fast. The twist here is that whoever wins has to say how much they won by. Jacks count as 11, queens as 12, kings as 13, and aces as 14. So that the kids stay sharp, I’ll mix in some subtracting mistakes when I win.

Cardslam (addition, subtraction, or multiplication)
Okay, I made this one up. It’s a stretch game-wise, but great for building speed. Just like war, except nobody wins cards – the players just say what the two consecutive cards add/subtract/multiply to. Student puts first card down, I put second and say whatever those two add up to (or multiply/subtract). Then he puts down his next card and says what the top two cards add up to. Repeat, with speed.

Difference-Sum-Product (subtraction, addition, multiplication)
I made this one up, too. It’s not really a game, per se, however most kids get into it and want to do it fast. And I want them to do it fast, too. Throw two cards down (no face cards), and the student shouts the difference, the sum, and the product as fast as possible. This builds automaticity, but it’s also a nice background for factoring once they hit 8th grade.

21 (addition, subtraction, probability)
I love this game for addition and subtraction. It’s also fairly disguised learning, so this is a good one for home when the student doesn’t think he’s actually “learning”. Asking questions deepens the results. “What do I have showing? So what’s the best card for me to have in the hole?” It also prepares them for the cruel, cutthroat world of camp.

Cribbage (addition, subtraction, probability, logic, strategy)
The crown jewel. Cribbage is such a good game for math that I convinced a local school to allow me to teach it as an enrichment class. The boys love it. This is disguised learning at its best and great for a family game. It’s fast-paced, fun, and has simple rules that allow for deep strategy.