Game about following directions

7 Fun Classroom Games For Teaching Following Directions To Kids

March 28, 2022March 26, 2022 by Manpreet Singh

Like all other vital educational topics, little ones also need to learn about shapes and directions. Be it to identify different corners of a shelf, or to travel to school themselves, knowledge on directions may be pivotal even as a child. Further to determine where they are or to locate their home, office, or even rooms in their house, the sense and gripping knowledge of directions is necessary. Kids are often a repository of dreams which often make them pounce upon those learning styles that are creative and engaging. Joining these dots, one can infer that games may provide a credible plan of action for instructing different directions that need to be followed in different tasks.

With that view, we made a list of a few games for kids. These options are simple and can be effortlessly employed in school or at home. Let’s have a precise view of each of these choices so that you may decide progressively about which is the apt take-in for you.

Pivotal attributes for little learners- How do following directions assist?

Learning a few life-serving attributes right at a tender age often assists them to deal with scenarios later painlessly, Sense of direction is one of them. To comprehend precisely, it is the ability of the children to search one’s way around swiftly when they are in a new place. Or, it may also be understood as the knowledge to decide to which direction something is facing or moving.

The classroom games can implicitly polish these abilities as these campaigns basically imply the students listening to some instructions regarding directions. Fascinatingly, learners may also improve a few attributes with these directional activities and games:

Children may develop better attention. In the following activities, the learner may need to focus on what the mentor orders. This creates a sense of priority keeping distractions away.
Brushed up hearing abilities with prolonged practice.
Frequently retaining the information and applying it may assist amplification of working memory.
Healthier Social behaviors as the learners listen to others before acting.

Easy following directions games- Concocted for tiny learners

Mastering a sense of direction may turn further effortless with the implementation of engaging educating recreations inside the classroom. Here is our list of must-look games that are innovatively crafted for following directions in kids:

1. Music or Stop

Ensuring multimedia in the game may excite young learners with a scope of multisensory learning. This recreation stipulates the students to follow the music to win.

To start with, the instructor needs to arrange a music source. A mobile phone or a music player will work well.
Students are made to stand in a row at one corner of the class, which can be marked as the start line.
There are instructions given on the board as to what directions students need to move in order to reach the endpoint.
Now, when the teacher starts the music, the little ones start moving forward. Suddenly the music may get paused; here the students need to halt and freeze till the music is replayed.
While the song is being played, the mentor has to keep a check that students are moving in the given directions only.
The control of the music is in the hands of the teacher, thereby controlling the direction.
The student who reaches the other side of the class first is declared the winner.

This game is simple and can be implemented easily with young learners in the classroom and at home.

2. Set the table

For students who are new to the school or classroom essence may need guidance to set their particulars. This can be gamified to create motivation in learners for the lecture later.

To start with, the teacher asks the students to take their places in the classroom.
Now teachers declare instructions one by one to ensure the students are ready for the class.
For instance, “Open your bag and keep it to your right side,” “take out your book and keep it in front of you,” “grab out a pencil from the pouch and keep it on the left side of your notebook,” and so on.
To make it yet more interesting, they may occasionally instruct random directives like raise/ fold your hands, sit up and stand up.
Keep a check on the children to make sure they follow all these commands along with directions.

This game may be a preferable icebreaker for students at the start of the day as it lets them make better bonds with the teacher’s pace.

3. Coloured Shapes

Measures like drawing are often intriguing for students. This game is woven around the coloring skills of the learners.

To start with, teachers need to arrange crayons, and a set of sheets with multiple shapes like circles, and squares are drawn on them.
They may consider providing copies of printouts to make the game easier.
Each student is provided with one paper and a set of crayons. Now, the teacher starts giving instructions to color these shapes.
Say, the mentor commands “identify the circle on the top right side, mark it as no.1 and color it with red”. The Young learner needs to point out the right-side circle on the top and color it accordingly.
Once all the shapes are colored, the mentor evaluates the responses if the student has followed the sequence and is able to identify different shapes given in different directions.

This game not only stipulates the student to identify various directions but also assists them in recognizing different colors and shapes simultaneously.

4. The directional race

Outdoor games may be preferable on a clear day. This game may be an admirable take-in as an alternative to the usual running race.

To start with, the teacher divided the whole class into pairs and procure a few stools. A race track is prepared, and some stools are placed as obstacles on the track.
Now, each pair stands on the start point of the track. Once a player is blindfolded and is the runner, the other one is the guide. Once the timer starts, the runner moves forward on the track with the instructions of the guide.
It is the duty of the guide to move the runner away from obstacles and reach the end line. To ensure this, they may give out commands to change directions to the runner.
For instance, they may say “turn right” at an obstacle and then “turn left” to pass beside it.
The team which reaches the end line first is the winner.

Apart from directional knowledge, this game ensures a sense of trust in the team members along with the physical activity.

5. Grid and cups

The teacher draws a combination of 25 grids (5*5) on the floor for each student and arranges a set of paper cups.

Each student is provided with a couple of cups, which they need to hold with either hand.
Each student sits beside their grid with their cups in the center.
The game starts with the teacher giving instructions to move their cups. For example: move your right cup to one step on the right side.
The learners carefully listen to it and then follow the same.
As the game proceeds, the speed of instructions increases.
In between the game, Teacher may check students if they’ve placed the cup in the right position.

This game may improve attention in little ones as they may need to focus appropriately on what the instruction is to avoid wrong moves.

6. Place the plaything

The practice of directions may also be ensured with toys like animal and car miniatures.

Before the game starts, the teacher procures 10 toys: say, a car, truck, zebra, and a few other pieces of paper.
Now, they make a poem on the sheet that implicitly describes the directions. These will help the kid to understand the direction.
To start the game, the mentor arranges 10 toys in a row facing towards the kids and the sheet of poem is handed over to the child.
The student is called upon and given a minute to observe the toys and the directions that the poem points towards.
As the timer is started, the student needs to turn the toys in such a direction as depicted by the verse..
For instance, the poem reads – Arrow beside the zebra faces left and the zebra is facing right to the car on the left side, then the learner needs to turn the playthings as directed.
This game may be employed with multiple students simultaneously, and the one who turns all the ten toys frst may be declared the winner.

With this option, the students may sensibly comprehend the directions with a text cue, thereby ensuring innovative practice.

7. Direction Racecars

Educators can turn teaching interesting by employing toys as a part of their lesson. How about a car race?

Before starting the game, the teacher procures say, 5 remote-controlled car toys, and then divides the children into groups of 5. Each group starts playing lap races with cars with a set of directions.
To start with, the instructor takes the students to the open ground or garden and marks a start and end line for the race.
And, multiple paths are drawn connecting the start and end line.
As the timer starts the kids start controlling their cars with the remote towards the end line.
But, there is a twist. When there is split in the path, the little ones need to follow the instructions stated by the mentor.
For instance, they may call out ‘Turn your cars to the right path.
Listening to this, the students need to turn their path to the right one and not the left one.
The one who reaches the end line first following all the directions may be declared the winner.

This game may be an enticing outdoor sport that kids may like. They may learn and practise the sense of direction as the game proceeds.

Summing up,

Approaches like games may be the appreciable choice for implanting crucial skills in kids. These strategies often channel creative energies in the right direction. For that reason, exhilarating games in the classroom may create an opportunity to learn and apply directions rationally. Appreciating the same, the options that we stated are worth considering not only because they are facile but also due to their effectiveness. Take a detailed gaze on these games to aid your expedition and discern if any of these are befitting for your little one.

References:

Dunham, S., Lee, E., & Persky, A. M. (2020). The psychology of following instructions and its implications. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 84(8).

7 Core Following Directions Activities for Kids That'll Improve Listening

Inside: Quick and easy following directions activities for kids that will help them practice self-control, emotional regulation and improve listening skills.

There was a joke traveling around years ago from Carrie On Y’all that said, “Maybe if I start yelling ‘Get your shoes on!’ the night before, we could get to school on time the next day.”

Honestly, the struggle is real.

Kids need A LOT of practice to learn basic life skills.

Following directions activities can support better listening skills in your child.

Teaching kids to follow directions isn’t as simple as doing a listening activity for kids, watching fairy dust shower from above, and seeing your kids transform into magical listeners.

Several years ago I was getting ready to take my son to school. He insisted—like life or death insisted—that he needed to wear his green shoes.

So I helped him find his green shoes, laid them out on the floor, and then realized I made a horrible mistake.

He shook his head and said, “No green shoes, mom. Nooo!”

In exactly two minutes, the green shoes went from being my complaining child’s most prized possession to the most horrible and disgusting shoes one could don.

Related Posts:

2 year old not listening? Try this remarkable tip.
10 Totally Awesome Tricks for Independent Kids

Teaching kids to follow directions – let’s simplify.

1. Connection first. Attention follows.

A few brief moments using SAY WHAT YOU SEE®, where you describe what your child is thinking, doing, feeling or saying, makes a big difference. This is the building block of connection, and when kids feel connected to you, they are for more likely to cooperate.

It might sound something like, “You’re drawing a picture with big green squares and red lines.”

No brainer, right? And yet, I still find myself talking to my kids without taking a brief moment for connection.

Sharing a set of instructions before you briefly connect with your child is like speaking foreign language. It can fall flat.

I know I have my child’s full attention when I have two things:

Eye contact
Eyes level (get down to the child’s level).

2. Be short and specific.

Kids tend to hear a lot of conversational white noise when adults are speaking to them. Say exactly what needs to be said for your child to follow your directions. Trim everything else out.

Instead of… “Hurry up. We gotta get out the door for this appointment. Get your coat lets go.”

Try… “Coat please.” Or, “You’re missing a coat.”

3. Use “wait time.”

This is a great strategy that I learned from a teacher. After giving a set of instructions to your kids, pause for 3-7 seconds to allow their brain to process and apply the information. Research shows kids are more likely to follow directions if you give them “wait time” or a hearty pause.

As adults, we are used to processing information much quicker, but kids…they take time.

Think of it this way: Keeping realistic expectations and waiting is the difference between you giving up and throwing your tea in the air vs. you calmly taking a sip of your tea while you employ “wait time.”

4. Unless you are offering a choice, don’t ask.

If your directions aren’t up for negotiation, keep that door firmly closed. Offering choices is a fabulous way to help end power struggles and enjoy a happier home.

But…everything in life is not always a choice. If you can’t offer a choice within a parental boundary you feel good about, give instructions as a statement, rather than a question.

Instead of… “Can you pick up your toys?”

Try… “I see toys on the floor and it’s time to leave.”

Or if you’d like to offer a choice, you can say something like, “I see blocks and dolls. Show me which one you want to put away first.”

5. Practice using following directions activities.

In order to build great listening skills, kids need a lot of practice…A LOT.

Which makes sense! I think we all can relate to needing a lot of practice before we can get good at anything. I could tell you a few stories about burnt dinner rolls for the past five years, but that’s a story for another day 🙂

Related:

50+ Best Simple Games for 2 Year Olds and Up
The Ultimate List of Board Games for 2 Year Olds

7 core following directions activities for kids.

There are several good ‘ole fashioned standby games to play with kids to help them 1) Listen and hear what you are instructing and 2) Practice following the directions you shared.

1. Simon Says

One person is Simon or Elmo or Dora or Spiderman or Teacher or Whoever, and this person is the “leader.” Simon gives a set of instructions and everyone else follows. The person who doesn’t follow the instructions is “out.” And the person who follows the instructions throughout the game, wins Simon Says.

2. Red Light, Green Light.

One person is the leader who calls out “Red Light” or “Green Light. ” When the leader calls out “Red Light,” everyone stops. When the leader calls out “Green Light,” everyone goes. Anyone who doesn’t stop or freeze during “Red Light” is out.

3. Follow the Leader.

Take a walk around your house or outside and whatever you (or the leader) does, everyone else must follow. This is a great game to allow your child to be the leader and have you follow your child. It’s a perfect opportunity to model following directions for your child!

4. Map Game

Try this map game and help your kids work their way through the grid following the directions given. Practice counting and using the words left, right, forward, and backward.

5. Two-step direction games.

Do one of these 2-step direction games with your kids. This is perfect for preschoolers and above! Have your kids follow some of the 2-step directions throughout the day (e.g. Shake your head “yes” and then quack like a duck.) Brilliant!

6. Lego® Game

If you have kids who are old enough to play a board game, try this Lego Game to help your kids practice reading directions and following them.

7. Visual direction activities.

With kids, visual directions are so important! You can make life simpler and fun using visual directions for your kids, such as a printable daily schedule for kids.

Bedtime routine cards
Morning routine cards
Mealtime routine cards

Using routines is a great way to support cooperation and help your kids learn to follow directions.

They are also energy saving, AND a great way to avoid yelling “Green shoes!” ten times every morning or “Eat your dinner!” six times every evening.

Grab your FREE Following Directions Checklist Here!

Game industry: gamedev (gamedev)

10/09/2015

In the modern world, the creation of video games is one of the largest segments of the entertainment industry. The scale of the gaming industry is comparable, for example, to the film industry. And in terms of growth rate over the past five years, the video game industry has significantly outstripped it.

In terms of the degree of influence on consumers and their involvement in the interactive environment offered by video games, this segment has long been distinguished from other types of entertainment.

Gamedev or game development cannot be considered in isolation from the computer games industry as a whole. The creation of games itself is only part of a complex "ecosystem" that provides a complete life cycle of production, distribution and consumption of such complex products as computer games.

The following levels can be distinguished in the structure of the modern gaming industry: platforms, game engines, video game development, publishing and operating, popularization and consumption.

A very small number of educational institutions in the world train specialists directly for the gaming industry. In Russia, the only educational training program for the gaming industry, Management of Internet Game Projects, trains specialists for two levels at once: Game Creation and Publishing (Operation).

Play platforms

Hardware and software systems that allow you to run interactive gaming applications. Among the main types can be distinguished:

Windows, Mac/OS X or Linux personal computers
Game consoles (dedicated gaming devices, now in 8th generation - Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Wii U)
Mobile devices (iOS, Android, Windows)
Universal web platforms, social networks (FB, VK, MM)
Arcade machines
Innovative virtual reality platforms

Game engines

A software layer between the platform and the actual game code. The use of a ready-made game engine makes it possible to significantly simplify the development of new games, reduce the cost of their production and significantly reduce the time to launch. Also, modern game engines provide cross-platform created products. The most advanced engines include: Unity 3D, Unreal Development Kit, CryENGINE 3 Free SDK.

Game development

A large number of companies and independent teams are involved in the creation of computer games. The development involves specialists of different professions: programmers, game designers, artists, QA specialists, etc.

Large professional teams of 100+ specialists are involved in the development of large commercial gaming products. And such projects in development can cost tens of millions of dollars.

However, quite successful game projects can be implemented by small teams of enthusiasts. This is facilitated by the presence on the market of a large number of open and widespread platforms, high-quality and practically free engines, platforms for attracting "popular" investments (crowdfunding) and available distribution channels.

Publishing and operation of games

The distribution of games or operation (in the case of MMOs) is usually handled not by the developers themselves, but by the publishers. At the same time, publishers (or operators) localize games, interact with platform owners, conduct marketing campaigns, deploy infrastructure, and provide technical and information support for released games.

For medium and small gaming products, this level is practically not available. Such products, as a rule, are brought to the market by the developers themselves, directly interacting with the platforms.

Promotion (game marketing)

Specialized mass media have always been a powerful channel for delivering information to users.

Now the most effective and widely represented area of the media are information sites dedicated to gaming topics.
Gaming magazines, which have long been the main source of information about games, have now given way to Internet resources.

Specialized exhibitions still remain important information platforms for the gaming industry (E3, GDC, Gamescom, IgroMir, KRI, DevGamm). Direct communication between the press and players with developers, exchange of experience between market participants, new contacts - this is what conferences and exhibitions offer in a concentrated form.

Another important channel for delivering useful information to players is TV broadcasts, both in the classic TV format and on a variety of video content channels.
You can find more detailed information on the marketing of online games in the article from Vyacheslav Utochkin, teacher of the educational program "Management of Internet Game Projects".

Consumption

Players are the main source of income for gaming products. But in the modern world, the most active players have become a significant driving force in the popularization of games and partly in the expansion of content.

Gaming communities

Within the most popular gaming areas, gaming communities are formed around specific games or series, new sites, forums and groups in social networks appear. Often, these groups generate even more information than developers and publishers can afford through their own resources and advertising. It is quite typical for an independent game site to offer visitors more complete information about the game world than the official site.

eSports

Due to the wide spread of esports, the most experienced players get the opportunity to translate their passion for games into professional tracks. There are quite a lot of championships in the world, and the stakes are so high that high-scoring players can make a good career as an esports player on this. Now esports is an entire industry with its own infrastructure, funding and celebrities.

Player creativity

The most dedicated game fans not only spend many years of their lives behind the creations of the game developer, but often create a variety of content around their favorite game. It can be entire websites, drawings, cosplays, magazines, video shows, game add-ons, or even full-fledged games.

Computer games industry: history of origin and development

The first computer games appeared at the dawn of the computer era, in the days of tube computers. In 1952, A. C. Douglas, as part of his university dissertation, created the OXO program that ran on the EDSAC large computer at the University of Cambridge. It was the simplest implementation of the game known to everyone as "tic-tac-toe".

But until technology made it possible to produce compact and reliable computer systems, the creation of games was the preserve of individual enthusiastic scientists.

1970s

The beginning of the video game industry is considered to be the launch in 1971 of the Computer Space game on arcade machines. The next step in the development of the video game industry was the commercially successful release by Atari of the video game Pong in 1972. A total of 19,000 arcade machines with this game were sold.

In the same year, the first home game console Magnavox Odyssey appeared on the market.

As technology advances and new (first specialized, then universal) devices appear, the video game industry has also evolved and adapted to new realities.

The late 1970s and early 1980s were the "golden era of arcade machines" of automata.

Among the most significant games of this period are Space Invaders (1978) and PacMan (1980). New games were already significantly different for the better from the pioneers of the industry visually and in terms of gameplay.

The total global income of the gaming industry in 1982 came close to $12 billion (or almost $30 billion in 2012 prices).

1980s

In the 1980s, with the advent of personal computers, the direction of developing games for them began to take shape. At first, games were created by enthusiastic developers, but as performance increased and the spread of personal systems, commercial gaming products began to be produced for them. Games for personal systems differed significantly from classic arcade games. At this time, the first strategy and complex RPG worlds appeared. But still, arcade machines and specialized game consoles remained the basis of the gaming industry.

At this time, the first printed publications devoted to computer games appeared.

1990s

In the 1990s, the further development of digital technologies (the introduction of CD-ROM, the development of hardware 3D visualization technologies, the advent of the Internet) and the spread of GUI-oriented operating systems (Microsoft and Mac OS) led to a significant increase in the share of computer games.

It was during this period that all the main genres appeared and a wide variety of game mechanics appeared.

It becomes available to play together in clubs or via the Internet. Esports is born.

In the mid-1990s, the first educational institution appeared that trained specialists in the development of video games. DigiPen Institute of Technology opens in Vancouver in 1994.

2000s

In the 2000s, the main driving forces for the development of the gaming industry are the widespread use of the Internet and the emergence of mobile devices that are productive enough to implement games.

In 2007, iOs comes out, and Facebook invites third-party developers to create applications on its social platform. In 2008, Google releases the first version of Android to the market with a full SDK 1.0.

The most significant event of this period is the release of World of Warcraft in 2004. It is the most popular and longest running MMO game in the world. In fact, it determined the direction of development of this segment of the gaming industry for decades to come. As of December 2014, the game had 10 million subscribers.

During this period, the development of eSports reached unprecedented heights. Interesting fact. A few years after its release, Star Craft has become a national sport in South Korea, gathering entire stadiums for final matches. During the period when PRO was most popular, gamers were earning between $20,000 and $600,000 a year.

In 2003, a unique educational institution appeared (The Guildhall at SMU, Texas), teaching game development specialties, in particular game design.

It is unique in that the legends of the world game industry Tom Hall, John Romero, Paul Jacqueis, Tim Willits and Richard Bailey Gray aka Levelord took an active part in the development of training programs! And the educational buildings resembled buildings from a computer game.

In the future, gamedev education begins to develop in many countries.

Gamedev in Russia

Russia, in view of its specifics, has long lagged behind developed countries in the spread of digital technologies. Piracy was also a serious problem. The gaming industry began to take shape only at the end of the 1990s. And only the spread of MMO games in the mid-2000s gave impetus to the expansion of the gaming market in Russia and a serious increase in the income of the gaming industry. Investments and joint game projects with large Western companies began to appear in Russia as well.

Game development education in Russia was absent for a long time, and only in 2011 the first game design courses were created on the basis of the Scream School of computer graphics. And in 2014, the first professional retraining program in the development and management of game projects was opened on the basis of the Higher School of Business Informatics of the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Modernity and forecasts

In the past five years, the gaming industry around the world has experienced rapid growth. Growth was observed in all segments, but the main drivers during this period were mobile games on the two main platforms iOS and Android.

It is worth noting that the United States and China make the largest contribution to the volume of the gaming industry, but the market structure of these favorites is very different. In the US, the largest segment is console games, and in China, MMOs.

The reason for such specificity of the Chinese game market is interesting. Until 2013, there was a moratorium on the sale of game consoles in China. This ban was the catalyst for the rapid development of MMO games. As a result, China has become the main producer of a huge number of often very similar, but at the same time quite high-quality MMO gaming projects in the segment. The Chinese gaming market in 2014 was estimated at almost $18 billion, and the number of gamers at 173 million.

Among the most significant events in 2014 can be canceled:

Microsoft's purchase of Minecraft for $2.5 billion. Initially, it was an independent project of a lone programmer. But as he developed, he won an army of fans. Being built on open technology, it has exploded in content and surpassed all other entertainment among digital generation children in popularity. In the fall of 2014, the number of registered players exceeded 10 million, and this happened absolutely without the involvement of advertising.

Facebook's purchase of Oculus VR technology for $2 billion. It is clear that the technology can be used in many areas and for various tasks, but for the gaming industry, this technology has become a fundamental breakthrough for the formation of a new VR direction.

In 2014, the number of active players in Russia exceeded 40 million, and the market volume exceeded $1.8 billion in 2013. The statistics of 2014 were spoiled by a significant devaluation of the ruble.

Gamedev and virtual reality

Starting from the end of 2014, new areas of game development - virtual reality and augmented reality - begin to gain momentum all over the world and in Russia. The development of these areas is due to the emergence of new affordable VR devices and new visualization technologies on mobile platforms. So far, these areas are in their infancy, but most experts agree that they are the future and in the next five years, they will win a significant part of the market. Large Russian conferences on virtual and augmented reality (MaxAR2015) are already starting to be held, the first Russian Association of Augmented and Virtual Reality is appearing.

Work in game development

Currently, applying for a job at gamedev provides great opportunities and growth opportunities for the following reasons:

High level of salaries due to specific requirements.
There is a fairly large shortage of good specialists in the industry.
The rapid growth of the industry, the growth of regional markets, the emergence of new technological directions open up good prospects for new companies to enter the market and stimulate the expansion of business in large gaming companies.
With due perseverance and talent, you can grow to international projects. There are already many precedents in igrodevel, when the best Russian specialists get jobs in the world's leading companies.

But in order to sell yourself well to the employer, and in the future to grow rapidly, or to successfully implement your game project, it is very important to gain high-quality knowledge and skills.

There are a lot of educational institutions that provide quality education in the field of game development in the USA, England, Australia, and France. The most famous of them: Guildhall at SMU, DigiPen.

In Russia, in order to improve skills and receive additional education in the field of game development, we can recommend the first in Russia comprehensive program of professional retraining in the field of development and management of game projects "Management of Internet Game Projects". The program is taught by leading specialists of companies with many years of experience in developing games and working in the near-game industry. Including representatives of Mail.Ru Group, Wargaming, Gaijin Entertainment, All Correct, XSOLLA and heads of their own game studios. The program will be useful for those who want to work in the gaming industry, employees of game studios, developers of their own games and those who are just planning to do it, as well as everyone who loves games and wants to understand the principles of their work from the inside.

The material was prepared by Konstantin Sakhnov, teacher of game design in the program "Management of Internet Game Projects" and Vyacheslav Utochkin, producer of educational programs in the gaming industry.

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Didactic games in mathematics lessons

Didactic games in mathematics lessons not only captivates, makes you think, but also develops independence, initiative and will of the child, teaches to reckon with the interests of comrades. I want to talk about some didactic math games that I use in my lessons.

MBOU "Tonkinskaya secondary school", elementary teacher
classes Toropova Galina Nikolaevna

“A child is not a vessel to be filled,
but a torch to be lit." (François Rabelais)

Mathematics becomes the most difficult and, for some children, the least favorite subject in the first years of schooling. This is due to the fact that some children have not yet developed such functions of mental activity as analysis, synthesis, generalization, the ability to compare, classify, and differentiate. For the successful education of children, it is necessary at the very first stages to arouse their interest in educational activities, to captivate, to intensify their activities. One of the most effective means of awakening a keen interest in a subject is a didactic game.

The implementation of game techniques and situations in the lesson takes place in the following main areas: the didactic goal is set for students in the form of a game task; educational activity is subject to the rules of the game; educational material is used as its means, an element of competition is introduced into educational activity, which translates the didactic task into a game one; successful completion of the didactic task is associated with the gaming result.

Didactic game in mathematics lessons not only captivates, makes you think, but also develops independence, initiative and will of the child, teaches to reckon with the interests of comrades. Enthusiastic children learn the program material more easily, acquire certain knowledge, skills and abilities. Therefore, the inclusion of games and game exercises in the lesson of mathematics makes the learning process interesting, creates a cheerful mood among the children, helps to overcome difficulties in mastering the material, relieves fatigue and maintains attention.

Significance of didactic games:

significantly increases the cognitive interest of younger students;
the lesson becomes brighter, more emotionally saturated;
a positive motivation for learning is formed;
Arbitrary attention develops, working capacity increases;
the ability to work in a team is formed

The place and role of gaming technology in the educational process, the combination of game and learning elements largely depend on the teacher's understanding of the functions and classification of pedagogical games.

According to the nature of cognitive activity , didactic games can be classified into the following groups:

games that require executive activity from children. With the help of these games, children perform actions according to the model (come up with numerical expressions, lay out a pattern, draw a figure similar to this one)
games that require action replay. They are aimed at the formation of computational skills (“Mathematical fishing”, “Labyrinth”, “How to get to the top”, “Fill in the window”, “Determine the course of the ship”)
games that include exploration and creativity (Collect Circle Examples, Math Caterpillar)

According to the nature of the material used, didactic games are conditionally divided into games with objects, board games and word games.

According to the functions didactic games are divided into:

educational;
controlling;
generalizing.

Educational will be a game if the students who participate in it acquire new knowledge, skills and abilities or are forced to acquire them in the process of preparing for the game. Moreover, the result of mastering knowledge will be the better, the more clearly the motive of cognitive activity is expressed not only in the game, but also in the very content of the mathematical material.

Controlling will be a game, the didactic purpose of which is to repeat, consolidate, test previously acquired knowledge. To participate in it, each student needs a certain mathematical background.

Generalizing games require knowledge integration. They contribute to the establishment of interdisciplinary connections, are aimed at acquiring the skills to act in various educational situations.

According to the number of participants didactic games can be: collective, group and individual.

Didactic games can be used at separate stages of the lesson, acting as game moments.

I want to tell you about some didactic math games that I use in my lessons. I am currently working with 3rd grade students. The central theme of the mathematics course in grade 3 is the study of tabular multiplication and division. The technique requires that children not only know the table, but also understand the principles of its compilation, which make it possible to find any work. Computing skills, as you know, are acquired as a result of repeated repetitions of the same operations. To avoid monotony in working out tabular cases of multiplication and division, I conduct exercises in a playful, entertaining way.

I define the value of a didactic game not by what kind of reaction it evokes from children, but by how effectively it helps to solve a learning problem in relation to each student.

Choosing some didactic game for the lesson, I think over the following questions :

Purpose of the game. What skills and abilities will be formed in the process of its implementation? What educational goals are pursued during the game?
Is it feasible for students in my class?
Will all children participate equally in the game?
Summing up the game.

To conduct a didactic game in the lesson, if necessary, I make groups in advance so that each group includes students with both strong and weak learning abilities. In each group, I appoint a responsible person. As a rule, this is a student with good learning opportunities or the most organized one who can organize the work of the group.

I assign an important role in the lessons to oral exercises. In order to involve all students in this, I use signal cards. They help to discipline students and at the same time receive information about the assimilation of the material. With their help, you can do a lot of oral exercises in the form of a game.

In my lessons I use the following games.

Game “Yes. No.”

Examples are given on the board: 4x6, 8x3, 4x5, 7x3, 9x4, 5x6. I show cards with numbers. If the number is the answer, the students say “Yes” in chorus, then say the example 4x6=24. if the number is not the answer, say "No".

Live Math

All students have a card with numbers from 0 to 9. Reading an example (3×2). The student who has a card with the number 6 stands up or raises his hand. It is best to give examples for division, since single-digit numbers are obtained in the answers.

The game requires physical activity, so it can be done instead of a physical minute in the middle of the lesson.

“I won’t tell”

The game is structured like this: children count, for example, from 20 to 50 one by one. Instead of numbers that are divisible by, for example, 6, they say: “I won’t tell!” !«. I write these numbers on the board. A record appears: 24, 30, 36, 42, 48. Then, with each of the numbers written down, students name examples: 24:6=4, 30:6=5, etc.

This game contributes to the purposeful formation of attention switching mechanisms.

"Check Yourself"

I prepare cards with the results of multiplying some numbers, for example 18. I show the card, and the students write down an example for multiplication with such an answer.

“Who is faster, who is more correct?!”

I distribute one set of numbers from 0 to 9 for each row of desks, so that one student in the row gets the number 0, another 1, etc. I read examples (4×4; 9× 2 or 40: 4, etc.), and the children must quickly figure out how much it will turn out, and those who have the numbers 1 and 6 go to the board and make the number 16. For each example, a point is scored for the row in which the faster and answered correctly. The row with the most points wins.

The game not only helps to consolidate a certain computational skill, in particular tabular multiplication and division, but in the course of it the understanding of the local meaning of numbers is clarified - students need to stand up so that one number stands for units, the other for tens. Mixing places is seen as a loss.

"Don't let your friend down!"

Two (four) students go to the blackboard at the same time. I read an example, for example: 6 × 7. I propose to make four examples of multiplication and division with the same numbers. The first student writes examples for multiplication, and the other - for division. If the examples are compiled and solved correctly, I applaud the guys for their coherence in their work. The entry on the board looks like this:

6×7=42 7×6=42

42:7=6 42:6=7

Example 7×6 =42 implies 42:7=6, 42:6=7.

“Divisible – not divisible”

I say different numbers, and the students clap their hands if the number is divisible, for example, by (4, 5) without a remainder.

"Collect the word"

There are the same number of examples on the board on the right and on the left. Two teams come to the board. On a signal, each of those called solves one of the examples and chooses among the prepared cards a card with a number corresponding to the answer of the example (a letter is written on the back of the card). The first team to make up the words wins.

In this game, interdisciplinary communication is also carried out, since dictionary words or words for any rule can be composed.

"Silence"

Examples for multiplication and division are written on the board. I show an example, the children on the cards are the answers. (Each student has a number set.)

"The best counter"

A circle with numbers is attached to the board. I give the task: to increase (or decrease) these numbers several times. Children write down answers in notebooks. This is followed by a check (the student who completed the task first reads the answers and everyone checks their notes.).

“In order”

Examples given:

8x3
3×2
3×6
7×3
5×3
3×9

Name the values of expressions in ascending (or descending) order.

“Circular examples”

I prepare cards with examples in advance, selecting them so that the answer of the previous example is the beginning of the next one. Each student in the same row receives such a card. It is very important not to make a mistake here! In the next lesson, these circular examples are given to the children of another row.

“Which row is better?”

Students in the first row ask questions to the students in the second row on the multiplication table (including cases of division). Then the students of the second row prepare examples for the children of the third row. On the board, I count the number of correct answers in each row.

"Which row will fly to the moon faster?"

I have 3 rockets cut from heavy paper folded in half. Each rocket has windows for the number of students in a row. In the middle of the rocket, I insert a sheet cut out along the contour of the rocket, and in the windows I write examples for multiplication and division. Students in each row quickly solve one example by passing the rocket to each other. We check the examples collectively. The rocket, in which all the tasks are completed correctly, “flies into space” first! I throw away the used sheets with examples and insert new ones. Tomorrow the rocket is ready to fly again!

Similarly, the games "Who will be on the mysterious island faster?"

"Chain"

Write on a board or poster.

I give the task:

find the last number if the first number is 18, 24;
find the first number if the last is 16, 72.

"Mathematical Dominoes"

Each student receives a card. It is divided into 2 parts: in the first part, an example for multiplication or division is written, in the second part, the answer to another task. The first student reads his example. The one who has a card with the answer to the sounded task calls this answer and says a new example. The next student answers and names his task, etc.

Math Lotto

All students take one card. I have 24 of them. The results of the multiplication table are written on them (4 answers each). I show the class a card with an expression, for example 5x3, and the guys on their cards cover the answers with circles. The winner is the one who closes all the numbers on his card first. Students make chips at a labor training lesson.

"Find a Pair"

3 students from each row come to the board in turn. Task: write down the numbers in the boxes to get the correct equalities.

9×4 = ? +?

42 : 6 = ? —?

76 - 44 = ? X ?

27 + 27 = ? X ?

These are just some of the types of work in mathematics lessons that activate students' activity. When performing the tasks described above, the guys think, compare, analyze. And this contributes to a more solid and conscious assimilation of knowledge.

The children really like the game "I am a photographer", in which I show the children a strip with numbers, signs, and the students have to memorize them in 5 seconds and "take a picture" in a notebook.

Author: Galina Toropova

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