how to play shape card games materials suggested plan...

Games for Young Mathematicians Shape Card Games

EDC © 2015-16 1

HOW TO PLAY Shape Card Games Materials • 2 decks of Shape Cards with colored shapes (you will combine 2 decks for some

games). • 2 decks of Shape Cards on colored card stock with shapes in black and white (you

will combine 2 decks for some games). Suggested Plan for Guided Math Groups, please modify for your class.

Game Progression Number Match Match pairs by number. Shape Match Match pairs by shape. Number and Shape Match

Play with all cards and match by number and by shape.

Crazy Shapes Play Crazy Shapes game with shape cards matching by number and shape. Object of the game is to be the first one holding no cards.

Go Fish Play Go Fish with shape cards. Choose whether you are fishing for numbers or for shapes (not both in this game).

Picture Books The Greedy Triangle Shapes (Math Counts) You can go back to the games (from previous sessions) where you think children are learning the most and enjoying the most. Feel free to repeat games and vary their order.


EDC © 2015-16 2

Number Match 1. Have children close their eyes and lay out 12 cards face up in a 3 by 4 array (or

reduce the number of and lay out 8 cards face up in a 4 by 2 array). (Make sure you have at least some pairs—stack the deck to help out the game play.) Then, have children open their eyes.

2. Demonstrate to children how to match two cards that have the same number. Say the name of the number then pick up the two cards and put them in your pile.

3. Have children take turns matching pairs of cards that have the same number. 4. Replacing cards: You can choose to replace cards each time two are matched or

you can wait until there are no more moves and replace all the missing cards. 5. Winning: Children can count up how many pairs they made at the end. They will

probably have the same number of pairs since they are taking turns, but it’s fun practice anyway (and fun to see if they can count the number of pairs they have made—counting by two).

6. Variation: You could play this as a memory or concentration game by turning the cards over to start, just make sure that you have sets of pairs!

About the learning in this game. The Number Match game works on numeral recognition and introduces children to the first of two matching rules used in the game, Crazy Shapes. In the Number Match game, children are focused on one rule—matching by numeral. Later they will match by numeral and shape. Children are still learning how to play games and here they are practicing skills like taking turns, finding pairs or matches, keeping track of and counting up cards. These skills are important in and of themselves because they allow children to access other opportunities for card games such as Crazy 8s, Uno, Go Fish, and Top It (War). These card games have mathematical elements including numeral recognition, comparing numbers, logic, strategy, rule shifting, and classification that are worthwhile and can extend children’s learning outside of school. For most children, learning game-playing skills takes time, patience, and explicit support to develop.


EDC © 2015-16 3

Shape Match- 3, 4, 5 or 6 shapes 1. Start by sorting the deck to keep just 3 types of shapes (e.g. triangle, square, and

hexagon which is easier to start with; or square, rhombus, rectangle to challenge children). Set aside the other cards for later. When children are ready, you can add more shapes into the game.

2. Have children close their eyes and lay out 12 cards face up in a 3 by 4 array (or reduce the number of and lay out 8 cards face up in a 4 by 2 array). (Make sure you have at least some pairs—stack the deck to help out the game play.) Then, have children open their eyes.

3. Demonstrate to children how to match two cards by their shape. Say the name of the shape then pick up the two cards and put them in your pile.

4. Have children take turns matching pairs of cards that have the same shape. 5. Replacing cards: You can choose to replace cards each time two are matched or

you can wait until there are no more moves and replace all the missing cards. 7. Winning: Children can count up how many pairs they made at the end. They will


6. Variation: You could play this as a memory or concentration game by turning the cards over to start, just make sure that you have sets of pairs!

About the learning in this game. The Shape Match game works on shape recognition and introduces children to the second matching rule in the game, Crazy Shapes. In the Shape Match game, children are focused on learning one rule—matching by shape. Later, they will match by numeral and shape. Children are still learning how to play games and here they are practicing skills like taking turns, finding pairs or matches, and keeping track of and counting up cards. These skills are important in and of themselves because they allow children to access other opportunities for card games such as Crazy 8s, Uno, Go Fish, and Top It (War). Many card games have mathematical elements including numeral recognition, comparing numbers, logic, strategy, rule shifting, and classification that are worthwhile and can extend children’s learning outside of school. For most children, the game playing skills take time, patience, and explicit support to develop. Number and Shape Match 1. Start by sorting the deck to keep just 3 types of shapes (e.g. triangle, square, and

hexagon; or triangle, rhombus, rectangle). Set aside the other cards for later. As the children become familiar with the game, you can add in more shapes.

2. Have children close their eyes and lay out 12 cards face up in a 3 by 4 array (or reduce the number of and lay out 8 cards face up in a 4 by 2 array). (Make sure you


EDC © 2015-16 4

have at least some pairs—stack the deck to help out the game play.) Then, children can open their eyes.

3. Tell children they can match cards by number or by shape to get a pair. 4. Have children take turns matching pairs of cards. 5. Replacing cards: You can choose to replace cards each time two are matched, or

you can wait until there are no more moves and replace all the missing cards. 6. Winning: Children can count up the number of pairs they have at the end. They will


7. Variation: You could play this as a memory or concentration game by turning the cards over when the children have their eyes closed. Making pairs in this version is more difficult because children have to hold two rules in their head—they can pair cards by number or shape—and they have to remember the location of the cards. There may be some cards left over at the end of the game.

About the learning. Number and Shape Match adds an additional degree of complexity as children have to switch between the rules to match by shape and to match by number. Keeping two rules in your head at once is an important executive function skill and fun for children to practice. It’s okay if they make mistakes and need reminding from the teacher or a friend. It’s a game, so keep it funny and light when children make mistakes or forget one of the rules. Crazy Shapes This game is similar to Crazy 8s but you are matching cards on shape or number rather than suit or number as you would with a standard deck of cards.

1. It helps to first demonstrate how to play Crazy Shapes, before beginning actual game play. To do so, deal out 3 cards to each child and to yourself face up. Place the rest of the deck in the middle of the table and turn over the top card; place it next to the deck to create a separate discard pile.

2. The object of the game is to have no cards left in your hand by matching either shape or number. The “crazy shape” card with many shapes on it and no numbers are wild and can represent any shape.

3. Players have to match the top card—by shape or number—with a card in their hand. If a match can be made, the player puts the card on the top of the discard pile face up and says what the match is—i.e. “Match on 4” or “Match on hexagons.” That card becomes the new top card and it’s the next players turn.

4. However, if a player cannot make a match, but has a “crazy shape” card in her hand, she can play that card and name which shape the next player has to play


EDC © 2015-16 5

from. 5. If players can’t make a match and doesn’t have a crazy shape card, they have to

draw from the deck until they can make a match. Keep playing until a player has no more cards. If you run out of cards in the deck, reshuffle the discard pile.

6. It might help to take your turn first so you can talk aloud about your possible moves. Support each child in turn by having children also talk through their options.

7. Holding the cards in your hand so others can’t see. Once the children understand the game, deal out 5 cards to each child and to yourself face down (deal out 3 again if 5 is too many for the children). Tell the children to pick up their cards carefully without showing the other players. Demonstrate how to hold the cards in your hand so others can’t see them. It may difficult for some children, but something they can practice. Place the rest of the deck in the middle and turn over the top card and place it next to the deck as the discard pile. Continue to play as you did when children’s .

8. Winning: The first player who has no cards left wins. 9. If the game is too long. You can always decide to stop the game early. You could

just decide that the player with the fewest cards wins or call it a draw and have a rematch another day.

About the learning in this game. In this game, children are practicing their shape and numeral recognition, but their brains are working on a lot more than that. They have to pay attention to the cards in their hand and to the rule shifting. Sometimes they will want to match on number, and sometimes they will want to match on shape, depending on the cards in their hand and the top card in the discard pile. What the “best” move will be is constantly changing and they have to pay attention to their game play as well as the other players’. As they get more experienced, they will start paying attention to strategy—which card will be easier or harder to get rid of? When should I play the wild card? What shape should I name when I play the wild card? As we wrote above, children are practicing skills like taking turns, finding pairs or matches, keeping track of and counting up cards. These skills are important in and of themselves because they allow children to access other opportunities for card games such as Crazy 8s, Uno, Go Fish, and Top It (War). Many card games have mathematical elements including numeral recognition, comparing numbers, logic, strategy, rule shifting, and classification that are worthwhile and can extend children’s learning outside of school. For most children, the game playing skills take time, patience, and explicit support to develop.


EDC © 2015-16 6

Go Fish 1. Deal out 5 cards to each child and to yourself. Decide if you are fishing for numbers

or shapes. Decide whether or not to remove the wild cards. 2. Start with children placing their cards face up on the table. Demonstrate how to

play the game. Once children understand the rules of the game, show them how to hold the cards in their hand so other players can’t see. Place the rest of the deck, “the pool”, in the middle face down. (You can spread out the “pool” of fish or keep it in a pile.)

3. Players find any pairs they have already in their hand and put those in a pile near them on the table. They will count their pairs at the end of the game.

4. Each player is trying to make pairs to put down in their pile. Players ask each other for a card they need to make a pair with a card that is already in their hand. Alex, the player whose turn it is asks, Ben, another player for cards with a particular number (or shape), “Do you have any 4s?”. If Ben has a 4, he must hand it over and Alex puts down her matching pair. If Ben has none, he says, “Go Fish”. Alex draws a card from the pool and places it in her hand. Then it is the next person’s turn.

5. The game ends either when a player is out of cards or when no more matches can be made.

6. Winning: Either the player who gets out of cards first or the player who has made the most pairs wins. Or, you can play two winners…

About the learning in this game. This game is slightly easier than Crazy Shapes because players are only focusing on one rule at a time-either making pairs on shape or pairs on number. However, there is still a lot to learn. In this game children have to name the number or the shape they want, so practicing that vocabulary is part of the game. Players are keeping track of the cards in their hand and what the best move might be. They should probably choose to ask the other player with 4 cards in their hand rather than the player with only 1 card in their hand. They may be able to pay attention to what cards other players have asked for to know what other people have in their hands (if they can’t already see). As we wrote above, children are practicing skills like taking turns, finding pairs or matches, keeping track of and counting up cards. These skills are important in and of themselves because they allow children to access other opportunities for card games such as Crazy 8s, Uno, Go Fish, and Top It (War). Many card games have mathematical elements including numeral recognition, comparing numbers, logic, strategy, rule shifting, and classification that are worthwhile and can extend children’s learning outside of school. For most children, the game playing skills take time and patient and explicit support to develop.


EDC © 2015-16 7

Polygon Polygon Name Defining Attributes

Triangle

3 sides

Square

4 sides 4 right angles

4 sides the same length

Rhombus

4 sides all sides the same length

Rectangle

4 sides 4 right angles

opposites sides same length and parallel

Pentagon 5 sides

Hexagon 6 sides

how to play shape card games materials suggested plan...

Documents