by Rachel Wells
Multiplication is a basic math skill that kids need to master before they can move on to more advanced math concepts. It’s also a math skill that many kids struggle with. Memorizing multiplication tables is one option, but there are also plenty of fun and engaging ways to practice multiplication as well. Kids tend to retain more information when it’s made fun, and games can play a key role in making knowledge stick.
Check out five of our favorite multiplication games perfect for 3rd and 4th graders.
Multiplication War
Supplies Needed: A standard deck of cards.
This game is played with partners. To play, split the deck of cards in half and give each player one stack (the cards should be face down.) At the same time each player will flip over 2 cards from their deck, multiply the numbers together, and say the product. The player with the larger product gets to keep all 4 cards. If both players have the same product, they will flip another set of cards and the winner with the highest product out of those cards wins all eight cards. Play continues until one person has all of the cards and wins the game.
Multiplication Tic Tac Toe
Supplies Needed: To create a game board for this activity all you need to do is write multiplication problems on a standard tic tac toe board (which can be drawn on paper or a dry erase board.)
This activity is played with partners just like a regular game of tic tac toe. Players take turns choosing a multiplication problem on the board to solve, and if they get it right, they mark it off. Play goes back and forth until someone gets 3 in a row.
Treat Game
Supplies Needed: Small cupcake paper liners, marker, small treats.
Write multiplication problems on the bottom of small cupcake paper liners. On the inside, write the product. Lay the liners on a table upside down (so you can see the problems) and have your child say the answer to the problem before flipping it over to check the answer and enjoy the treat underneath.
Array Race
Supplies Needed: A pair of dice or dice-inside-a-dice, graph paper, and crayons or markers.
Players will take turns rolling the dice and marking off a matching space on the grid (writing the math sentence inside.) The player with the most spaces colored at the end of the game wins.
Math Fact Memory
Supplies Needed: Index cards (2 different colors) and a marker
On one color of index cards write multiplication problems, and on the other color write the answers. To play, lay the cards face down. Players will take turns flipping over two cards (one of each color) to see if they can find a match (problem and solution.) If they don’t find a match, they will flip the cards back upside down and the next player can try. If a player does find a match, they keep it and continue flipping two cards at a time until they no longer find a match. The game continues until all the cards have been matched, and the player with the most matches wins.
