Teaching Resource Math: Capture the Creature!

Straight from the Resource Room, I'm excited to share with you a game that my kids LOVE and beg to play!  Yes, they really do beg to play!  :)  

Capture the Creature is a fun math game that helps strengthen addition and subtraction skills within 100.  Capture the Creature is a fun game for practicing adding and subtracting within 100.  Students take turns drawing a card from the deck and adding the number on the card to the "Dinner Bowl" of the creature.  Specialty cards are included to "Capture the Creature."  The student with the creature at the end of the game wins!  Students learn how to add and subtract using a bead string or bead rack.  Students will learn more advanced strategies for adding and subtracting (such as composing and decomposing numbers to add/subtract in the most efficient ways, adding and subtracting 5's and 10's, and using related addition and subtraction facts).

Here is what you will need to play this game!

Capture the Creature Cards

100 Bead Rack or 100 Bead String (instructions to make one of your own below)

A Creature (plastic lizard or use the Creature Cards)

Directions:

1.  All cards are placed in one stack in the center of the table.
2. The youngest player goes first and begins by drawing the top card from the deck and reads the +/- amount on the card.
3. The player pushes the correct number of beads to one end of the 100 bead string and announces the total.  The player places this card in the discard pile.
4. The next player draws a card and will put the card on the discard pile.  The player will add or subtract the amount noted on the card using the 100 bead string and will announce the total. (The bead string is known as the Dinner Bowl--a name made up by my kiddos, because the beads remind them of food pellets for the creature/monster).
5. In order to Capture the Creature, do one of the following:
a. Pick a specialty card that allows you to Capture the Creature
b. Play a card that makes the Dinner Bowl equal a multiple of 10.
6. Play ends when:

• Dinner Bowl equals or exceeds 100 
• the last card is drawn or 
• the teacher calls the end of time

Student with the creature at the end of play is the winner!!

Instructions for making a 100 bead string:

Materials:

• 1 long string (can be shoelace materials, yarn, twine) approximately  feet
• 100 pony beads  (50 red and 50 blue)  
• 2 jump ring or binder rings

Directions:

• Tie a jump ring or binder ring to one end of the long string.  This will hold your beads on the string.
• String beads onto your string in groups of 10.  10 red, 10 blue, 10 red, 10 blue, and so on until you reach 100.  You will notice that my beads are 5 solid blue, 5 transparent blue, 5 solid red, 5 transparent red, etc.  This helps my students with counting by 5's and 10's.
• When I begin this game, I start out by introducing the students to the bead string.  Students have time explore the bead string.  I make sure that they notice that there are 100 beads and that beads are in a pattern on 10's and 5's, blue and red.