The Critical Thinking Co. Middle School Math Games Review

I love teaching with games! Not only are they fun, they break up the monotony of textbooks and add what I like to call, “learning with glitter”. I was excited to have the opportunity to review Middle School Math Games  from The Critical Thinking Co. I have used some things from The Critical Thinking Co. before, and their material can offer a bit of a challenge for the average student. My ninth grader, who finds math a struggle at times, was who I had in mind to try this product with.

I received a 72 page soft cover book with perforated pages. Inside were a compilation of 16 games as well as variations to the games. Most of the games require only pencil, paper, and a pair of dice or a spinner. The instructions list the materials needed, the mathematical learning standards for each game, an overview, and how to play the game. There are also examples to follow, which I found to be helpful in explaining the games before we tried them.

The concepts included in Middle School Math Games are:
– Fractions/Decimals/Percents
– Positive and Negative Numbers (Signed Numbers)
– Prime and Relatively Prime Numbers
– Coordinate Geometry
– Order of Operations
– Area and Perimeter
– Exponents and Experimenting With Other Number Bases
– Evaluating Algebraic Expressions
– Math Vocabulary and Symbols
– Formulating Math Problem-Solving Strategies

How we used Middle School Math Games 

We enjoyed playing several of the games we tried. I focused on the algebra games, and our favorite was “Bingo Anyone? “. Everyone loves a fun game of Bingo, and this one had a twist: The student must calculate the answer and then find it on the Bingo board. There are three different variations for this game, and we enjoyed the variety. We also enjoyed “Let’s Sum Up”. This one required some thinking ahead, and had variations as well. Most of the games did require two or more people. My seventh grader played some of the games with us, even though he has not gotten into algebra this year.

I really like that the games take very little prep, but I did have to make copies of the game boards. I was given a choice of the digital format or a physical book. This time, I chose the book, but in this case, a digital copy would have been better. That way, you can just print however many you need, rather than ripping out pages, and making sure you kept a master copy for later use. The digital books are available for purchase and download on their website.

Several Review Crew members used a variety of items from The Critical Thinking Co. From building vocabulary to building writing skills, they are all in the reviews below! The Critical Thinking Co. has something to add some fun to your day!