Single-digit addition game – Mental addition sprint printable
I’ve noticed since covid lockdowns that many of the children I tutor in years 4, 5 and 6 heavily rely on counting with their fingers.
Finger counting is great for early addition and subtraction, with each finger representing ‘one’. However, when children start doing calculations with larger numbers, it can cause problems with speed and accuracy.
This free printable single-digit addition game is one of many that I use in tutoring sessions to build up confidence in mentally adding single digits using number facts.
It’s quick, fun, effective and can get competitive!
Single digit addition sprint game details
On your marks, get set, go! This game is a fun way to develop quick number fact recall and numerical understanding. Building confidence by practising adding single-digit numbers mentally helps children to do calculations more quickly and accurately.
Resource type
Printable game
Players
2+
Subject
Maths
Skill
Addition
You need
- 3 dice
- Counters/playing pieces (1 per player)
- Free download game sheet
How to play
- Choose who will go first
- Player 1 rolls all three dice and mentally add the totals
- If the dice total 12 or more, they move one space along the track
- If the dice total 11 or fewer, they stay where they are
- Take turns until a winner reaches the finish line
Tips
- Adding smaller numbers to larger numbers is easier, quicker and more accurate (e.g. 6 + 3)
- Encourage your child to look for:
- number bonds (e.g. 4 and 6 make 10)
- doubles (e.g. two 3s are 2 x 3)
- triples (e.g. three 4s are 3 x 4
Variations
You can make various changes to make this game easier or more challenging. Here are a few suggestions:
- play with more or less dice
- use different dice such as D10, which have 10 faces
- change the target total of 12 to a higher or lower number
- increase or decrease the number of wins needed to win the game
Important!
Children must know there is nothing wrong with counting on fingers. Fingers are the perfect tool for adding small numbers: using them is a multisensory way to gain number knowledge and grasp simple mathematical concepts.
If children aren’t ready to completely stop counting on their fingers, that’s fine! Encourage them to notice patterns (doubles, number bonds etc) and add on starting with the highest number. Eventually, they will use their fingers less and less.
How to download
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