Add the Dice

The Ministry is migrating nzmaths content to Tāhurangi.           
Relevant and up-to-date teaching resources are being moved to Tāhūrangi (tahurangi.education.govt.nz). 
When all identified resources have been successfully moved, this website will close. We expect this to be in June 2024. 
e-ako maths, e-ako Pāngarau, and e-ako PLD 360 will continue to be available. 

For more information visit https://tahurangi.education.govt.nz/updates-to-nzmaths

Purpose:

The purpose of this activity is to help your child to instantly recall the addition facts up to 10.

What you need:

  • Two dice
  • A calculator to add scores
  • Paper to record scores

What to do:

Player 1 rolls both dice. If a 6 is rolled, then roll again. Add the two dice together. This is their score for the first round. Write the score on a piece of paper.
Player 2 has a turn.
At the end of five rounds use the calculator to add up each player's scores.  The winner is the player with the highest total score.

What to expect your child to do:

Over time expect your child to instantly recall the addition facts.

Variation:

  • Use three dice instead of two.
  • Encourage your child to use basic facts to add two of the dice together and then count on the third number.
  • Use your homes language to play this game. 

He Kupu Māori:

mataono tau
dice
tāpiri (~hia)
add
tāpiritanga
addition
otinga
result/answer
tapeke
total
tātaitai
calculator

He Whakawhitinga Kōrero:

  • Māu e tīmata. Kei a koe te mataono tau. Pīroria. (You can start. The dice is yours. Roll it.)
  • Kei ahau ināianei. (My turn now.)
  • Kua puta he ono. Me pīrori anō. (Its a 6. Roll it again.)
  • Tāpirihia ngā tau. He aha te tapeke? (Add the numbers. What is the total?)
  • E whā, tāpirihia te toru. (4 plus 3.)
  • Tāpirihia te whā me te toru. Ka hia tērā? (Add 4 and 3. How many is that?)
  • Tuhia te tapeke ki te pepa. (Write the total on the paper.)
  • Kia rima ngā pīroritanga māu, kia rima māku. (You have five rolls [of the dice] and I have five.)
  • Tāpiria ngā tapeke e rima katoa. Whakamahia te tātaitai. (Add up all of the five totals. Use the calculator.)

Download a file of this activity:

PDF (162KB)