Target Math is a short game that you can play with all ages and math skills. All players have one “Target” number. Everyone has one minute to write that number in different ways.
For example, a few ways one can write 10 are as follows:
2 + 8 38 – 28 eggs left in dozen when 2 are broken 10:00
1000 ¸ 100 5 x 2 $10 $0.10 1/5 of 50
At the end of one minute, players take turns sharing responses, crossing off duplicates. (“10” is different from “ten;” drawing a clock at 10:00 is different from “10:00” and “10 o’clock” is still different; writing “5 x 2” is different from “2 x 5” and is different from drawing an array of 5 rows by 2 columns)
The goal of the game is to have different answers. The math goal for students is to realize that there can be multiple ways to be “right.”
The Target Math Game is one component of the Summer Math lessons. It was originally part of the full 2015 Math Matters summer school curriculum produced by the Math Consortium Incentive Grant.
Description of Resources
Target Number Directions: Provides directions and examples for playing the game; identifies math fluencies for Kindergarten through Grade 6; and supplies a dozen numbers to get the game started. Educators can use the list of math fluencies as a resource to suggest more ways to represent a given number.
Student Target Number: This is a piece of paper with a Bull’s Eye graphic serves as the “game board” for students to write their ways of representing the given number.