
I'd like to share with you an addition math game! Before drawing, coloring or painting on the free bus page from our Pond Coloring Club you can implement this strategy-packed minimal-prep game that will encourage flexible thinking and integrating strategies.
Fill the Bus Addition Game
- a game mat (bus coloring page) for each student
- a dish of dice (differentiate to suit your learners)
- number tiles or sticky notes (write a number between 4 and 24 if using six sided dice)
- the goal is to have a die in each window of the bus to total a chosen number
- choose a number from a range that suits your dice (4-24 if using standard dice)
- place a number tile, card or use a sticky-note and place it on your bus between the windows
- start rolling dice and place one in each window, keeping a running total

- you may choose to write your numbers down or draw dots on the bus windows as an addition strategy

- you may choose to keep the first number you roll, or keep rolling until a number of your choice appears
- on the final window you will need to make sure the roll makes the final total (e.g. after 4, 6 and 3 you must roll a 2 to get to 15)
- encourage your students to pay attention to the 3rd window also, in anticipation of the final window needing to be a number between 1-6 (they will get better at understanding this after a few plays)

- combining numbers to make 10 quickly (in photo above they may see the 6 and 4 and quickly tally 10)
- using their knowledge of doubles and near-doubles
- bridging to ten as a beginning step to work out the difference (after rolling 4 in the photo above, they may think I need a 6 to get to 10 and then make 5 after that, I need to make 5 from 2 windows/numbers)