“Go Fish”
KNPIG ID #S 2205.1
What's this activity about?
This game is not only fun, but also a great way to help kids learn different ways to make the number 5! That seems pretty simple to us, but it isn’t always that easy for kids. Young children need lots of practice with figuring out ways to put numbers together and ways to take numbers apart. Just seeing math problems like 2 + 3 = 5 or 5 – 3 = 2 doesn’t always make sense to kids like it does to us. The number 5 is a very important place to start when helping kids get ready for adding and subtracting. This game is a fun way to spend time with an important child in your life while also helping him or her discover different ways to put numbers together. Enjoy!
What materials do we need?
Five Frame cards, 0 to 5, 4-6 of each number
These cards are specially made to give kids some different ways to see and think about numbers. Each card has the number, the number word, and the “five frame” version of the number
How do we play?
This game is played like traditional Go Fish, except that a “match” is 2 cards that can be added together to make 5.
- Shuffle the cards and give each player 5 cards. Put the rest of the cards in a stack face down in the center of the table.
- Everyone will take a turn. On each turn, a player asks any other player for a card that will go with a card in the player's hand to make 5. If he/she gets a card that makes 5, the matching pair is placed on the table and the turn is over.
- If the player does not get a card that he/she needs to make 5, he/she takes a card from the deck. If the card drawn from the deck makes 5 with a card in the player's hand, the matching pair is placed on the table and the turn is over.
- If a player runs out of cards but there are still cards in the deck, that player takes two cards from the deck and continues playing.
- The game is over when there are no more cards left in the deck.
- The player with the most matching pairs wins the game.
Where’s the Math?
There is a lot of math in this game that goes along with what kids are learning in school. The cards are helping kids see addition and subtraction through objects and pictures (the dots). Kids are also seeing ways to break numbers into pairs in more than one way, while also becoming stronger at being able to add and subtract within 5.
Things to Think About:
As you play Go Fish with kids, remember to BE PATIENT. Sometimes it’s hard to not to help them along if they are having a hard time figuring out what card they need to make a match. Instead of telling them the answer, ask questions that will help them get to the answer on their own. Try asking “what do you think you need to put with the 2 to make 5? Could you count the dots to help you figure it out?” rather than just saying “you need a 3 to go with 2 to make 5.” When kids are given the chance to figure things out on their own, they gain a deeper understanding of whatever we are trying to help them learn.
When first playing Go Fish, you may want to start out with everyone laying their cards on the table so that you can talk about possible matches (“I see that you have a 3 in front of you – what do you think you are going to need to ask for to make a match?”). As your child becomes more comfortable with the game, start holding the cards in your hands. Later, randomly ask your child questions about what numbers go together to make other numbers – “I was thinking about the game we played the other day – what number could I put with 4 to make 5?”
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