GAME QUESTIONS

Questions to ask yourself when developing math games:

1. Does the game suggest something interesting and challenging for children to figure out how to do?
2. Does the game make it possible for children themselves to judge their success?
3. Does the game permit all players to participate actively throughout the game?
4. Is the game attractive and appealing to children?
5. Are the game pieces/parts appropriate in size and detail for children?
6. Are the rules easily understood by the children?
7. Are the children involved in social interactions (i.e., talk to each other, share ideas, speculate, laugh, get excited, etc.)?
8. What kinds of dispositions does the game encourage (i.e., curiosity, figuring out strategies, creativity, observation, experimenting, inquiry, reconstruction, etc.)?
9. After introducing the game, can the children play it independent of teacher help?
10. Is the game neither too difficult or too easy for the grade level intended?
11. Can the game be played at multiple levels depending upon the level of the children playing it?
12. What kind of knowledge will the children construct by playing this game?
13. Is the game organized well enough so that children can simply choose it and begin play?

Aliff, K., Grimes, C., Horrell, S., McGlohn, S., Morris, T., & Slater, B. (1993). Math games for young children. Norfolk: Monarch Copy Center.

Kamii, C. K. (1985). Young children reinvent arithmetic: Implications of Piaget's theory. New York: Teachers College Press.

Kamii, C., & DeVries, R. (1980). Group games in early education. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.