Total Recall

This game promotes the recall and use of basic facts. There will be many opportunities for you to use the “and how did you work that out?” question. You could also use this game to show how brackets can be used to control the order of operations.
If you are using this game in a guided teaching situation and you display and explain the rules, you will still need to revisit them as the students play their first few games. If you do want to show the students how to use brackets to control the order of operations, insist that they write the equation that shows how they combined their dice numbers. There will be many opportunities for them to use brackets to enable addition or subtraction to be done before multiplication, for example,
(3 + 5) x 2 will make 16, whereas 3 + 5 x 2 will make 13.
Review the variety of ways that equations can be made and highlight the increase in choice that the students have if they combine operations, mix around the digits, and use brackets. Encourage the students to manipulate expressions “around” a combination of 2 dice. For example, with a throw of 3, 2, and 5, you can use 3 x 2 = 6 as a start and make 1 and 11: (3 x 2 – 5) and (3 x 2 + 5).
When the students understand the game, it is an ideal maintenance or fun activity. Use it as a pairs activity where both students check each other’s equations or as a small-group activity where a leader who understands the use of brackets can check the responses of the others.
 

Answers to Activity

A game using basic facts