If you are looking for a fun game that helps your children understand “greater than” and “less than”, you might like the What’s My Number Game.
It’s a very easy game to play that helps kids with number sense and doesn’t take a lot of time or resources to prepare. It can be played with as few as two people or as many as a hundred (although if you have that many children, more power to you 😉 ). You can get it ready in about 5-10 minutes, depending on how many people are playing. The rules are quite simple and can be learned in a matter of minutes. Here are the specifics.
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What’s My Number Game
Materials:
3″ x 5″ index cards
Pencil
Masking tape
Preparation:
Cut the index cards in half width-wise. Prepare as many of these mini cards as there are people playing the game. If you intend to play more than once, cut another set of cards.
Write a different number on each index card. Choose a number that is within each child’s ability range. For example, a younger child may be able to guess a number between 1 and 10, an older child could handle a number between 1 and 100, and a teen could be given a number like 3,594,107. (Let him guess THAT one in less than 5 minutes 🙂 )
Put the cards face down on a table and write the initials of the child who will be guessing the number in the corner. If you like, you could use different colored index cards for each child instead.
Roll up a piece of tape and stick it on the back so that the card can be stuck to the child’s forehead.
Directions:
Pair up each person with someone of a similar ability level. Adults can be partnered with anyone. Have the partners stick the numbers on each other’s heads. Make sure that they don’t let their partners see the number that is going on their head.
One person starts guessing the number that is on his head. His partner should respond with words like “greater/lesser” or “bigger/smaller” to indicate the value of the target number in relation to the guess. For example, if the target number on the person’s forehead is “21” and the person guesses “10”, the partner should say “greater” or “bigger.” This continues until the player guesses the number correctly, then the other person takes turns trying to guess his number. Play can be repeated with new numbers.
Variations:
For a more challenging game, players can alternate taking turns guessing rather than giving one person a chance to guess his number before switching to the other. Note that young children may struggle with this because they may forget the numbers that they have already guessed.
If you want to use this game to help your child to practice math facts, try this version. Put a math fact like “6 x 7” on the card. Each player must first try to guess the answer to the problem (“42”). Then he has to guess the problem itself (“6 x 7”). The player will need to know ahead of time if it is an addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division problem.
I hope you and your kids enjoy the What’s My Number Game.
Looking for more educational fun? I have some games here you might like.
Many blessings,
