Maths Games with Feedback

Tutpup is one of my favourite ways of getting the students drilling their maths facts and it also gives feedback.

Anything that ranks them or gives them instant feedback seems to be the students favourites.

Here are a few more useful maths games which also provide feedback for both student & teacher

Math Magician
This is great because it gives students feedback on their speed & accuracy. If they complete the activity in under a minute and get 100% correct, it also gives them a certificate with their results that they can print. This is a good way of keeping track of their results and rewarding them at the same time! A little bit of competition amongst themselves always goes a long way. It drills addition & subtraction facts to 20 and division & multiplication based on the times tables.

Multiflyer
This game has a built in "cheat sheet" for kids who need extra help with their multiplication facts. If they don't know the answer they can use a grid system for calculating the answer. The faster they can answer though the more points they get. When the student choses to "end the mission" they are given the option to print a "printable report". Great for keeping track of their own improvements.

Alien Addition
Part of the Arcademic Skill Builders site (a review to come) this single player game allows students to set their level of play (eg number facts from 1-20 or 10 to 20) and speed to drill addition number facts up to and including 20. At the end of the game a report of success can be printed. Students who get through all levels are able to print out trophies. One teacher has all of these on a trophy wall!

Arithmetic Four
A basic looking game based on "Connect Four" and played by two players. Each player must answer maths questions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) to earn a piece to place on the board. Parameters: time limit, difficulty level, types of questions. At the end the teacher can review and record the scores - but making a printed copy requires a screen dump!

Another simple game/drill site is Harcourt's That's A Fact Students can drill basic number facts in the four operations. It also allows them to chose vertical or horizontal algorithms to suit individual preference. Drills are timed, although there is an untimed option. At the end it tells you which facts were not complete and which were wrong. This page can be printed (answers not given) or students could copy the algorithm and correct answer into their books!

Tutpup.com

Tutpup is an online game site that allows students to compete against students from all over the world in math or spelling contests.

You are able to use the site without registration, but joining does allow you to save student accomplishments. Note that spelling is pronounced with a British accent (sometimes a little thick for my students to understand), and spellings will be British! Teachers sign up and can create a class identity; only teachers have to put in their real names.

Check out the Help for Parents link for additional information about registration and how to use the site. You can choose to allow students to compete with students outside their classroom, outside their school, or just within their own class. Teachers can also lock the class list to prevent anyone else from joining. Students must wait for an opponent to appear to participate in the activities.. As soon as a competitor appears, each student sees the same game and tries to answer each question faster than his opponent. Players can see their progress throughout the game, as well as the time remaining. Be aware: this site is still in Beta and requires Flash.

My remedial maths students love this site! I logged in the other day to see if any of my classes were playing outside of school time. One of my lowest ability students had played a number of games and was actually ranked 1st in Australia and 2nd in the World (for the past 24 hours). I was able to share the screen dump I took of his ranking with him and his teacher and let all the other students know how well he'd done. This had such a positive effect on his self esteeme and I was able to share it with his father who was very proud of him. It also encouraged my other remedial students that they too had a chance to be first in Australia (if not the world!) and their game playing outside of school also increased.

Students can, like my remedial champion, play games at levels they are comfortable with, however we have included this as part of a weekly timestable program and they are only allowed to play games inclass time based on their timestable of the week. It is amazing to hear them say "oh I know that one now". I love their motivation while they're playing and it's one of the highlights of my week.