ABE/GED Mathematics Activities & Student Worksheets

Math skills can be taught , practiced and reinforced in many different ways. There are a
variety of alternatives to the big GED books and the giant lists of problems found in some
workbooks. Math games and activities can be used in the GED classroom to engage
students in the learning process while having fun. Worksheets can easily be modified,
used in a variety of ways and turned into activities. Examples of this can be found
throughout this booklet.

Following is a summary of an article from Steve Sugar on "Ten of the Very Best Reasons
for Using Classroom Games". ( www.thegamegroup.com )
• Games are fun with a purpose.
• Games give the student and teacher immediate feedback.
• Games provide an environment that transforms the passive student into an active
part of the learning process.
• Games engage players and motivate them to interact with the topic.
• Games encourage collaborative learning and team work.
• Games accelerate the rate of learning.
• Games allow the teacher to be flexible and add variety to their lessons.
• Games can be customized to any size class, even one-on-one


General Game & Activity Ideas

1. One way of turning a worksheet into an activity is by playing MATHO.

Using the game sheet found on the following page, turn any worksheet into an activity.
Write the answers to a worksheet (16 to 20 answers) on the board and have students copy
the answers onto different squares on their game board. They then match the problem
number on their worksheet with the answers on their game board by writing the answer in
the circle.

Turn the worksheet into a game by having students work independently or in teams to be
the first to get 4 matches in a row, column or diagonal or to be the first to match all the
questions and answers.

2. Use index cards in a variety of ways

Write questions on one index card and the answers on another in a different color.
Students may also want to do this part. In teams or independently, have students match
questions with answers. They could also play "Concentration". Depending on the topic,
the teacher could also deal out the questions or the answer cards to students and have
them match orally. The first one to get rid of their cards wins.