Defensive Struggle, Multiplication Style!

Become a multiplication super-star! Get ready for an exciting way to practice those multiplication facts. Your third grader will love strategizing to earn points as they place their cards on the game board. Carefully examine all the possible products as you decide where to play. Earn points for coming up with the correct answers!

Skills:

• Multiplication
• Strategy

What You Need:

• One deck of playing cards (Print a deck.)
• One Defensive Struggle game board (Print out two copies of the game board and tape them together to make a 4x4 array.)
• Pencil and paper (for solving problems and to record scores)

What You Do:

1. Create the game board by printing out two copies of the attachment and taping them together to create a 4x4 grid.
2. Remove all the aces, twos, threes, and fours from the deck. Divide the aces through fours into red and black cards. Give each player (or team) either the red or black aces through fours.
3. Players take turns placing any one of their cards in an empty space on the game board.
4. Whenever a player finishes a line of four cards (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) that has a product of 24 (e.g. 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 = 24), that player earns 1 point.
5. Play continues until all spaces on the board are filled. The player with the most points wins.

Variations:

• Play until 10 points. Each time the board is filled, clear it, redistribute the cards, and keep going.
• Play best out of 3 rounds or best out of 5 rounds.
• Use a 3x3 board and only Ace through 3s (Product = 6). Or use a 5x5 board with Ace through 5s (Product = 120)