Gamifying math and beating the summer slide

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On October 1, the announcement rings: “It's time for everyone to master the multiplication tables!” The goal? Memorize them all before Thanksgiving and never forget them. But reality teaches us the opposite. Just as we don't master art, language, or sports through repetitive exercises over a few weeks, mastering mathematics requires a different approach.

Research shows that spaced learning, or teaching students by spreading smaller groups of lessons on a given topic over time, is most effective. It allows students to consolidate previously taught content before learning new content and helps facilitate more deliberate connections between ideas. This approach helps students learn faster and retain information better, according to researcher Dr. John Hattie. Spaced teaching and practice has an effect size of 0.65, which means that students can do 1.5 years of learning in one year of learning Here.

Numbers take on new meaning when children can apply them to everyday life and practice arithmetic during play. This is where the concept of gamification meets spaced learning. With this approach, parents can reinforce foundational math skills over the summer with games that help children maintain and retain key concepts in a fun, exploratory way.

Gamification reinforces learning

While most students wouldn't include math review on their summer wish lists, gamification can help reduce math anxiety by making math more enjoyable. It is also a powerful tool to combat what is known as the “summer slump,” or the tendency of students to lose previous achievements during summer vacation.

Formally, gamification is the practice of introducing game elements into non-game environments to capture motivational factors found in games. But in practice, it's a lot of fun! While digital platforms often use gamification elements such as points, badges, leaderboards and rewards, these elements can also be successfully included in offline learning activities. Not only is it an exciting experience for students to earn points and advance to the next level, but research shows that gamification elements increase achievement. A recent study analyzed the effect of gamification on students' academic performance and attitudes toward a mathematics course from preschool through fifth grade and found that students who learned through mathematics gamification showed significant increases in achievement test scores. compared to their peers who did not learn through gamification.

Simple games reinforce mathematical understanding

Playing games that focus on app-based learning and real-world problem solving allows kids to test math concepts in real-world settings. Here are some simple games parents and caregivers can try with young children this summer:

Enjoying math in the car

Instead of answering the question, “Are we there yet?” Caregivers can engage their children in activities that examine the duration of time. In this real-time activity, caregivers can ask children how to reason during time spent in the car or on public transportation.

• Sit with your child inside a car, bus, or train. Ask them questions about the length of time between stops. Ask them if they think it took them too long or too little time to get from the stop sign to the red light. You could ask them to estimate how long it will take them to get to the next stop.
• If necessary, provide examples of long (bathing) or short (brushing teeth) durations to help children better understand the concept of time.
• After they give their answer, you can ask them to explain their thinking. By using the words long, big, long, fast, short, slow, or small, you can help them better understand how to explain time durations.

Numbers, numbers, everywhere!

Children can identify numbers on signs and license plates and count along the way by identifying numbers and collections of things during a trip.

• Sit with your child inside a car, bus, or train. Ask them easy-to-answer questions about the numbers they see inside or outside their transportation. For example, you could ask them to count how many trees they see along the street. Or you could say, “I see four things outside my window. Can you guess what I'm counting?
• After the child answers, you can present another question or invite him to ask you about the numbers he sees.

Everyday math games in your own world: playgrounds and parks

Play provides a natural way for children to explore numbers in their environment, making parks and playgrounds great settings for everyday math games. By participating in these interactive games, caregivers can reinforce the concepts of length and direction.

Collecting Sticks: Exploring Measurement with Length

• The next time you are at a playground or with trees, invite the children to pick up the sticks they find on the ground and stack them. Using simple instructions, you can ask them to identify a short stick and then ask which one is longer or shorter. You can then encourage children to place all the sticks in order from shortest to longest.
• Then, have children use the sticks to create an art project that can represent a person, animal, or thing.
• Invite children to describe the length of each stick as they use it. For example, you may need to use the two longest sticks to represent a person's legs.

Scavenger Hunt: Exploring Positional Language

Children can demonstrate their understanding of positional language by listening to your instructions and following directions on a scavenger hunt.

• Ask the children to hide their eyes. Place a toy in an easy-to-find location.
• Use simple instructions that use positional language to help them find the toy. For example, you could tell them to go through the tube and look at the toy next to the bench.
• After the children find the toy, repeat the activity with a new scavenger hunt. You can also invite the children to hide the toy and guide you to it with instructions in positional language.
• Positional words include above, across, behind, below, in front of, near, outside, on top, beneath, etc.

These games may seem simple, but they make math more tangible for young children and create stronger connections between what they learn in school and what they experience at home.

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