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We Are Teachers; Games 4 Gains; Education.com
By Jill Staake, B.S., Secondary ELA Education
May 2, 2024
It’s so important that 5th grade students master key math concepts like fractions and decimals as they prepare to move on to advanced math classes. These 5th grade math games can help with those skills, along with coordinate planes, calculating volume, and more. Plus, they’re a lot of fun! Choose a few to try in your classroom or for practice at home.
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Hands-On 5th Grade Math Games
Mrs. Hansford’s Classroom
1. Flip cards to compare decimals
In this version of War, students flip three cards and place a chip as a decimal point. Then, they compare their cards to see whose number is greater. The winner takes all the cards.
Money is a useful way to give decimals real-life application. In this game, students use playing cards to represent amounts and work to get their hands to equal exactly one dollar. (Find more math card games here.)
Each student receives a stack of decimal “snowballs.” They each flip one over and compare their numbers. The student with the larger number keeps both snowballs.
Even 5th grade math students aren’t too old to enjoy human number lines! Lay out the line on your floor, using a playground ball for a decimal point. Then try this: Choose 10 students and give them each a large card numbered from 0 to 9. Have another student secretly write down a number to the thousandths place, then provide instructions to get the numbers to stand in the right places. For instance, “Number 3 is in the hundreds place. Number 6 is in the hundredths place.” See how quickly students can get into the right place in line!
One player secretly plots a decimal on the line. The other player guesses a decimal and plots it on their own number line. The first player tells them whether their guess is larger or smaller than the correct number. The players keep narrowing it down until they’ve correctly identified each other’s numbers.
Print this free game at the link, then have 5th grade math students roll the dice, move their pieces, and add or subtract the numbers shown. The other student checks their answer on a calculator. If they’re correct, they stay there. If not, they move back. For extra practice, they can use base 10 blocks too.
If you’ve played Spoons before, you know the drill. Match four of a kind (this time using free printable fraction cards found at the link below), and you get to grab for a spoon—and so does everyone else! The loser takes one letter of the word SPOON, and play continues.
Grab a handful of counter chips of two different colors and lay them out. Then challenge students to a variety of fraction activities: What fraction do they make? What are the equivalent fractions? Repeat the activity a few times and add, subtract, multiply, or divide the fractions.
Fifth grade math students do a lot of work with fractions, and dominoes are perfect manipulatives! In this simple game, each student draws two dominoes. They multiply and reduce, then see who has the larger number.
Each player flips a domino and turns it so the larger number is on top, making an improper fraction. Then they write the mixed number and reduce it if needed. The player with the larger number keeps both dominoes.
This is such a fun way to practice gathering data and using it to make line plots. A long-jump contest gets kids up and moving. You can also measure your wrists or your feet.
All you need for this simple 5th grade math game is some sticky notes. Set a target number and provide numerals to work with. Challenge kids to use a variety of operations, including brackets.
Coordinate planes are another new concept in 5th grade math. This simple game helps kids learn how they work as they try to be the first to graph four in a row.
Remember when you realized that the game Battleship was really all about coordinate planes? Time to share that with your 5th grade math students! Play the real game, or get free printables to use at the link below.
Does your classroom have square floor tiles? Use them to make a life-size coordinate plane! Then have kids stand in one spot and jump to a new one. When they arrive, they must announce their new coordinates. You can also call out instructions like “Move ahead two on the X-axis and back three on the Y-axis.” Kids will think and move at the same time, reinforcing the learning.
The game is simple enough: Each player takes a turn kicking a soccer ball or defending the goal. When they’re successful, they get to solve a multi-digit multiplication equation for a chance at a bonus point.
Crack the safe by solving an equation, one step at a time, using the correct order of operations. If you make a mistake, you can go back to the previous step to fix it.
Using the stacks of various candies that add up to certain amounts, determine how much each individual candy is worth. This can be done as mental math or by writing out and solving equations.
Enter the coordinates to send the boat on its way to the finish line. Stop along the way to pick up coins, but be sure to avoid obstacles. You have a limited amount of time, so think fast! This game can be customized with single-quadrant or four-quadrant boards.
All kids dream of having their very own pool. In this game, they’ll practice area models and multiplication as they design their perfect swimming setup.
