Although completing problems at a desk can be boring for many fourth-graders, multiplication games are an enjoyable way to hone skills and stimulate interest in practicing. Games are versatile and can be used for whole class practice, small group reinforcement or individual play.
Group Multiplication Games
Around the World requires multiplication flashcards. Position student desks in a semicircle. The student at the end stands behind the student directly next to him. The teacher shows a flashcard. Both students try to figure out the problem and the student that yells the correct answer first moves behind the next seat. The student who loses sits in the chair of the student he just competed against. The first student to make it to the end of the circle wins. This game can also be modified so the person who moves the most seats wins.
Provide students with bingo cards that have multiplication problems. Teacher will call numbers and students must solve the problems to determine whether you have called their numbers. The first player to cover a row wins.
In Last One Up, divide class into two lines facing the blackboard. The first person in each line goes to the board. The teacher says a multiplication problem. The first person to write the answer goes to the back of his line. As students miss a problem they are eliminated and return to their seats. The last standing person wins. This game works well if you have an individual game at students' seats so they have an activity when they sit down.
Small Group Games
There are many games that can be played with four or less people. Students can play multiplication war by drawing two cards each instead of one. Each student must multiply the cards he drew and the highest number takes the cards of the other players. In the case of a war, two more cards are drawn by each player and multiplied to determine who takes all the cards. For weaker multipliers, ace is 1 and face cards are 10. Make the ace worth eleven and the face cards worth 12 for stronger players.
Pair students to play tick-tack-toe. Print or create boards with multiplication problems. Students must solve the problem before marking their space with an X or 0. A turn is skipped if the problem is wrong. The first person to cover a row in any direction wins.
Individual Games
Play Beat the Clock by giving students a worksheet with many problems and see how many problems they can accurately complete during a given time period.
Print out a coloring picture and put multiplication problems in the parts of the drawing. Make a key indicating that certain numbers are to be colored with specific colors. For example, 2 to 16 are yellow, 17 to 30 are blue, 31 to 64 are red, and above 64 is green. As students complete the problems, they color the picture.
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