When gamer geeks teach math

[velvetpage]

My favourite manipulatives of all time are dice. They can be used in
any area of the curriculum that needs random number generation or has to
do with probability or fractions. If you have a collection of
decahedral (ten-sided) dice, you can use them to teach concepts related
to the base-ten system, including percent. (Hint: you can buy these in
sets of 10 for five bucks from most hobby stores that sell role-playing
games, and they'll come in more interesting colours than the ones out of
the manipulatives sets. My kids are fascinated by my substantial
collection of dice. I'm still trying to get some money out of my
principal to get a good supply of interesting dice for my classroom.)

Some activities I use them for:

1) Random number generation for just about any game or skill-building
activity. For example, "Each player rolls one die. Both players
multiply the numbers together and write down (or call out) the answer.
The first to finish gets a point." This can be adjusted by using
six-sided dice for students working on lower multiplication facts, or
ten-sided dice or twelve-sided if the kids are going all the way to 12x12.

2) Teaching ordered pairs: they're a great way to conceptualize the
range of answers possible in beginning algebra, for example: " ___ + ___
= 12. What numbers could go in the blanks?"

3) You can use dice to express any probability provided the number of
sides is a multiple of the probability in question. If you want a
probability of 1/2, then the numbers from 1-3 represent one, and the
numbers from 4/6 represent two. This allows for using dice to represent
equivalent fractions.

4) Dice are one of the key tools for probability activities, and having
dice of more than one type allows for an easy extension activity: "How
would this game be different if you played it with ten-sided instead of
six-sided dice?"

5) Many sets of ten-sided dice come with some dice that have two digits
on them: a digit from one to ten and a zero. These make rolling a
number out of a hundred extremely easy. Even without those, though, you
can designate that the blue die is the tens place and the white die is
the ones place. It's a good way to model tenths and hundredths in
addition to whole numbers. Throw in a third ten-sider, and you've got
thousandths.

(Note for the non-gamers in the group: on a ten-sided die, the zero can
be either zero or ten depending on the situation. If you're rolling for
percents, rolling zero for the tens place and a five for the ones gives
you five, but rolling a zero on both gives you 100. This makes it
impossible to roll a zero. You need to set up with your class what the
zeroes mean before starting any game with ten-sided dice.)

Most of these activities can be completed with number cards on rings,
too - but that's not as much fun.

Comments

[wytetygryss.livejournal.com]

I`ve used dice for a place-value game, too. Each group gets one d10. Zero counts for zero. Each student has a place-value chart. They each roll the d10 in turn and choose which column of the chart to write the result in. The goal is to get the biggest number. The kids seemed to enjoy it :)

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Yep, I've done that. I should have added it to the list.

[amyura.livejournal.com]

I'm a HUGE fan of gamer dice for probability and, well, games that teach numerous concepts. You can even use them to randomly generate calculus problems :)