Hey everyone, and welcome to the Factors game! In this video, we’re going to show you how to play this exciting and educational math game, which is designed to help kids understand prime factorization, composite numbers, greatest common factor, and least common multiple. We’ll also share some tips and adaptations to make the game more challenging and engaging. So if you’re ready to learn and have fun, keep watching!
What is the Factors game?
The Factors game is a printable board game that helps kids practice finding the factors of different numbers and see the prime numbers appear. It’s a great way to develop their problem-solving skills, fluency with multi-digit numbers, and understanding of mathematical concepts. The game is suitable for students in grades 3 to 6, and it’s aligned with the Common Core Mathematical Standard 6.NS.4 and the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice 1 and 7.
How to play the Factors game!
To play the Factors game, you’ll need the game board, 2 crayons, and a calculator. Here are the rules:
The objective of this game is to shade the greatest number of spaces on the Factors gameboard as possible.
On a turn, a player will select any available number (a number not already shaded), and will proceed to shade it as well as all remaining numbers which are a factor of his or her number. For example, if a player chooses the number 75, he or she could shade all of the following (assuming they have not already been shaded on an earlier turn or by another player):
75, 1, 3, 5, 15, 25,
Each player will get three turns. At the end of the third turn, players take the calculator and add up the numbers in their shaded spaces.
If a player fails to shade a factor which he or she could have shaded, the opponent may point out the error and claim that number. If a player shades a number incorrectly, the opponent claims that number.
The player with the highest sum after three turns wins the game.
Adaptations!
There are a few different ways to adapt the Factors game to make it more challenging and engaging. Here are some ideas:
Instead of playing for the highest sum of shaded numbers, play to see who can shade the greatest number of available factors.
Allow players to use factors more than once. If a player selects 100, the number 100 is out of the game, but the factors (1, 2, 4, 5, 20, 25, and 50) can be used again.
Assign evens and odds to different students, or assign each student a number from the game and see if it’s prime or composite.
Use dimes or other objects to cover the numbers and see how many are factors for each number.
Use the divisibility rules to dismiss some rows and columns as composites.
We hope you enjoyed learning about the Factors game! It’s a fun and educational way to practice finding the factors of different numbers and develop problem-solving skills, fluency with multi-digit numbers, and understanding of mathematical concepts. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments below. Don’t forget to check out our other math games and resources!