Math Games:Greater than; Less than Slap

One of the skills that 1st graders work hard at is recognising which numbers are greater than or less than another number. Most adults have this skill so ingrained in them already that they can't remember a time that they didn't know what was greater than or less than something else. Trust me when I say this: kids have to practice this skill. This is a number sense skill; a part of understanding numbers and what they symbolise. One game that I just taught the kids is like WAR except we slap our hand on the bigger number. Whoever slaps first gets the cards.



To play the game, take out all the face cards so that you just have the numbers. (I keep the aces in to stand for 1s.) Then, at the same time, both partners turn over their top cards. The first one to slap the larger number gets to keep both cards. The game continues until one person has all the cards. It sometimes helps to have everyone turn over their cards, put their finger on their nose (to force them to actually LOOK at the cards) then slap the larger number. If two numbers are the same, both players draw again and the one who slaps the largest number gets ALL the cards. Here we are playing the game.