Today, we’re excited to introduce you to a math game that we think your fifth graders will love. It’s called “XOX” and it’s a fun and interactive way to practice graphing points on a coordinate plane.
To play the game, you’ll need a standard deck of cards and a coordinate plane. The ace cards stand for 1, the Jack stands for 11, Queen for 12 and King for 13. All red cards stand for the “x-coordinate” and black cards for “y-coordinate”.
Each player decides which symbol he will use – “O” or “X”. The players must work on a single coordinate plane. Players draw a card to determine who goes first. The player with the highest card goes first, and play continues in descending order. The cards are then returned to the deck and shuffled.
Each player is dealt with 10 cards and the remaining cards are placed in the center, face down. On each turn, the player chooses a pair of cards (1 red and 1 black) from his hand and graphs the point on the coordinate plane. His turn ends afterwards. The next player repeats the process, but cannot mark a point that has already been marked by the other player.
Players can choose their pair of cards to prevent the opponent from making a row of points. For example, player 1 might choose the 5 of hearts and Jack of spades, plotting the point (5,11). Player 2 might choose the 4 of hearts and 2 of clubs, plotting the point (4,2).
The game continues until one player has created a line of points using their chosen symbol, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. That player wins the game!
We hope your fifth graders enjoy playing “XOX” as much as we do. It’s a great way to reinforce their understanding of coordinate planes while also having a good time. If you’re interested in purchasing the printable game, it’s available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
XOX is a fun and engaging math game that helps kids in 5th grade, It’s just one of 44 math games included in our 5th Grade File Folder Math Game Book, a collection of printable math games that are perfect for reinforcing key math skills in a fun and interactive way. Each game is designed to be printed and placed in a file folder for easy storage and organization. The book includes a wide range of math games covering a variety of 5th grade math concepts, so there’s something for every learner. Get your kids excited about math and make learning more engaging with these file folder math games!