Math with the Pack

Materials

1 deck of Tiny Polka Dot cards or print cards

Goal

To play the card with the bigger number to win the round.

Instructions

• Mix the cards and split them into equal piles.
  • Players hold their cards face down so the top card is unknown.
• Each player turns over the top card in their pile at the same time. Whoever has the highest number wins and keeps all the cards.
  • If players tie for the highest card, each player draws another card. The larger number wins all the cards from that round.
• Keep playing until one player has all the cards.
  • Once a player loses all their cards, they are out of the game.

Materials

1 deck of cards (you can remove face cards if desired for faster games)

Goal

To be the first player to line up your cards in sequence order: Ace to 10.

Instructions

• Shuffle the cards.
• Deal 10 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards in the middle of the table as the draw pile.
• Players arrange their cards in two lines of 5 cards each, face down.
• Player 1 takes the top card from the draw pile.
  • If it is a number card, place the card in the corresponding place in their number line, flipping and  removing the card that occupied that position. 
  • Then take the flipped card and place it in its corresponding spot, if applicable.
    •  If the card cannot be used, it is placed on the discard pile and the turn ends.
• Play continues according to the game play rules above, with the exception that players can now choose a card from the draw pile or pick up the top card from the discard pile.
• After one player has completed the Ace - 10 sequence, the other player(s) get one final turn in an attempt to tie the game.
• Card positions:​​​​​​​

Materials

• Pattern Blocks or Printable Blocks
• Pattern Block Puzzles 

Goal

• Use Pattern Blocks to fill in the puzzles! Rotate, flip, and trade out in order to fill the puzzles exactly! 

Instructions

• Choose a puzzle to start with: 
  • Hard – Fill in easier templates where shapes fit just right.
  • Harder – Use black-and-white outlines that require careful shape matching.
  • Hardest– Follow a “shape recipe” (a specific number of each block!) to fill a challenging outline. Precision required!
  • Bonus Penguin Puzzle!
• Through trial and error, find a way to fill the puzzle with pattern blocks. Once you complete the puzzle, you can try another puzzle or trace the shapes onto the puzzle and color!

Materials

• 1 deck of cards
• Pencil
• Paper
• Timer (optional)

Goal

• To make ten using various combinations and operations.

Instructions

• Deal five cards to each player, face up.
• Players list all the ways they can think of combining any two or more of their cards to make a total of ten. 
  • Numbers may be added or subtracted, but each card may only be used once in each calculation.
  • If you were dealt 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, you might make the following combinations:
    • 10;  3 + 7 ;  10 + 5 - 3 - 2;  7 + 5 - 2 
• Each valid expression scores 1 point per card used. The player with the highest score is the winner.

Materials

• About 4 of each of the blue, green, and yellow square tiles. 
• Puzzle Rules & Tasks

Goal

• To create a mosaic for each puzzle using blue, green, and yellow squares.

Instructions

• Each puzzle needs at least one blue, one green, and one yellow square.
• Each puzzle has additional rules.

Materials

• 6-sided die per 2-4 players
• Pencil
• Worksheet or paper

Goal

• Roll the dice and collect points. You can go as long as you want, but roll the wrong number and lose all your points from that turn.

Instructions

• Players take turns rolling a die as many times as they like.
  • If a roll is a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, the player adds that many points to their score for the turn.
  • A player may choose to end their turn at any time and “bank” their points.
  • If a player rolls a 1, they lose all their unbanked points and their turn is over.
• Beginner Game: The first player to score 50 or more points wins.
• Advanced Game: The first player to score 100 or more points wins.

Alternate playing options

• Roll two dice and multiply them. 
  • You can keep rolling as long as the product is even. 
  • If the product is odd, you lose all unbanked points for that turn and pass the dice.
• Play to 500.

Materials

• Two different-colored game pieces
• Two different color markers (preferably the same colors as the game pieces)
• Product Game Handout (or play online)

Goal

• To get four squares in a row–vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

Instructions

• To begin the game, Player 1 moves their game piece to a number in the factor list of numbers (1-9 along the bottom of the handout).
• Player 2 then moves their game piece to any number in the factor list (including the number marked by Player 1). Determine the product of the two marked numbers, then color the square of the corresponding number. 
• Player 1 then moves either marker to another number, and the new product is colored for Player 1.
• Players take turns moving a marker, and each product is marked, depending on which player made the product. However, if the product is already colored, the player does not get a square for that turn.
• Play continues until one player wins, or until all squares have been colored. 

Materials

• One die
• Pencil
• Paper (or handout)

Goal

• To get a strike or a spare!

Instructions

• Draw 10 circles in the same placement as bowling pins and number each circle from 1 -10 (or use the linked handout).
• Roll a die three times and record the digits.
• Work with a partner (or on your own) to write number sentences, using only the three digits rolled with the die, to equal as many of the numbers 1 through 10 as possible. 
  • You can use addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and/or exponents
  • You must use all three numbers in the expression, and each number can only be used one time.
• Record each number sentence and cross out the bowling pin (circle) with the corresponding answer.
• If you are unable to eliminate each of the ten numbers, roll the die three more times and use those new digits to produce number sentences for the remaining numbers.
  • If you knock down all pins with one roll = STRIKE!
  • If you knock down all pins with two rolls = SPARE!

Materials

• 4 matching colored dice for each player
  • EX: If three people are playing, you will need 4 red, 4 yellow, 4 blue
• Paper game board
• Pencil

Goal

• To be the player to score the most points in four rounds of play. 

Instructions

• The first player slides, rolls, or flicks one die from the “starting plank” of the board towards the scoring zones.
  • The dark line across the middle of the board is the first scoring line. All dice must completely cross that line. If the die does not completely cross the line, it is removed from the board and counts as a turn.
  • If a die tumbles off the board, the die is no longer in play and counts as a turn.
• At this point, the first player’s die is now resting on one of the scoring levels or is removed from the board and is no longer in play.
• Play continues with each player alternating turns until all four of their dice have been used.
  • If an opponent's die is knocked off the board in the process, it is no longer in play.
• This marks the end of a round. At this point, the scores are tallied.
  • Total your scores: multiply the value of the die by the level on which the die has come to rest.
  • EX: a die which shows a 4, resting on scoring level 3 would equal 12 (4 × 3 = 12). All of the dice remaining on the board are multiplied and added in the same manner. The total is your score for the round. Record your score on a sheet of paper.
  • The player with the highest total score at the end of the previous round goes first, and the next highest second, and so on.
• Play continues until four rounds have been completed. The final score is tallied, and the highest score is the winner!

Alternate playing options

• Instead of playing four rounds, the game can be played until a predetermined score is reached (ie. 301 or 501 points. If more than one player reaches the predetermined score. Then the player with the highest score wins.
• Instead of playing as individuals, play as teams. Red and green dice vs black and white dice. Determine who should roll first and second on each team. Play alternates just like the original game. Teammates never shoot back-to-back.
• Younger players who have not yet learned how to multiply can play by adding the die value to the level value. 
  • EX: a die roll lands on a four and it comes to rest on level 3, then the score would equal 7 (4 + 3 = 7).

This one is less of a “do-at-home” activity and more a glimpse into a recent 8th grade math project.

In the Barbie Zipline Project, Algebra I students set out to design the perfect zipline for a very small but very brave rider. Their goal was to create a ride that was exciting enough to be fun, but carefully designed enough to be safe.

Students began by experimenting with slopes and building small-scale models using simple materials like string, pulleys, and meter sticks. They measured starting height, ending height, base distance, and the length of the line, using those measurements to build a mathematical model of their zipline.

Along the way, students applied several key math concepts. They wrote linear functions to model height as a function of distance and graphed those relationships to better understand how their rider would travel along the line. They used the distance formula and the Pythagorean Theorem to calculate the length of the zipline, and applied the Triangle Sum Theorem and some basic trigonometry (with support) to analyze the angles created by their design.

Once their models were built, students launched their riders and collected data, measuring distance as a function of time and calculating speed. They also explored modeling and proportional scaling, using their small prototypes to predict how the zipline would behave at different heights.

When it came time to test their designs, students compared what actually happened to what their math predicted. The result was a project that combined engineering, creativity, and a lot of algebra, proving that even a zipline for Barbie can involve some serious mathematics.

Barbie Zipline Photos & Videos