When it comes to reviewing everything I’ve taught my students throughout the year, I like to work smarter, not harder. A great way to do this is to teach them one game that you can reuse with a variety of skills. That way, instead of teaching a new center activity every week, you teach at one time and swap out the skills that students do each week. A great activity for this is math dominoes. This is one of my favorite math activities to do with my students! Let me tell you all about it.
What are Math Dominoes?
Whoa Math Dominoes are just like dominoes, but with a variety of math skills. There are 10 different sets of math dominoes that focus on skills such as place value, addition, shapes, and more. You can play dominoes in small groups, put them out as centers, or have them at an early finisher station.
If you put all 10 sets out at once, students have a choice in which skill they want to practice. Or, you can put one set out a week for 10 weeks near the end of the school year so students practice everything before the year is over.
Related Reading: Ready to Go Math Centers with Games & Activities for the Classroom
How to Play
Print the math dominoes on thick card stock in laminate. Cut each individual domino apart. Shuffle them up and put them in a plastic bag or task card box.
To play, students dump out the domino sets and work to find matches. If the corner of one dominoes says nine on the addition set, they must make an addition fact that adds up to nine touch that corner of that domino. It’s just like plain regular dominoes except the matches you are making can be for a variety of standards. The rules are the same if the task is to match up shapes, coins, and more!
How to Use in the Classroom
You can play these domino games in small groups whenever you want to review a particular math skill. You also can make this a regular center in your classroom for several weeks of the year. In fact, because there are 10 sets, you could create a domino center during your math block that will last for the last two months of the year.
I recommend storing these in Ziploc bags or task card boxes. You can label the task card boxes with which set is which. This makes it easy to put multiples out at once and let students choose. Storing these well also helps them last for years to come.
Your students will love paying Math Dominoes. It’s a simple but effective way to review skills. The bonus is that it’s a hands-on activity that students find really fun! It’s a win all around!
You can get started by grabbing your set here. I know your students will love playing as much as mine do!
