Contig Math Game
One of my favorite math games to play with students of varying levels and ages is Contig. The game was originally created by Dr. Frank W. Broadbent from Syracuse University. He published an article in The Arithmetic Teacher in May 1972. In the article he explains “‘Contig’ is a game that intermediate-grade children love to play and with which they can challenge their older brothers, sisters, or parents.”
We know from the work of Jennifer Bay-Williams and Gina Kling the power of games in helping learners to achieve true fact fluency. In a section of their book Math Fact Fluency dedicated to debunking myths about fact fluency, Bay-Williams and Kling explain, “In a given amount of time, children can practice at least as many facts playing games as they do on a worksheet (often more). Games also provide the benefits of engagement, rich discussion of math concepts, instant feedback, and an opportunity for teachers to assess strategy use and progress toward mastery.”
Why Contig?
Builds math fact fluency
Builds number sense
Easily differentiated for learners at different levels
High engagement
Mathematical Discourse
Inexpensive
Easy to prepare
Can be used in centers, small groups or even as a solitary activity
Game Materials Needed
3 dice
score pad (any paper will work)
highlighters or dry erase markers
Contig game board (you can laminate them or drop them in a sleeve protector and use with dry erase markers so you don’t have to make continuous copies)
How to Play
Each of the 2-5 players rolls the 3 dice and determines the sum. The player with the SMALLEST sum will go first and then the play proceeds left to right.
When it is the player’s turn, he or she will roll ALL 3 dice and use one or two operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) to get an answer that is on the game board.
The player will mark the appropriate square on the game board.
How to Score
A player scores 1 point for each marked square that the new number touches. Therefore, the more adjacent marked numbers that it touches, the more points that are scored. Adjacent can be vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
Notes for Differentiation
Typically 8 rounds are played. Each round can become progressively more difficult, so you can limit the rounds to 5 instead for the sake of time and difficulty.
Have each player use a different color highlighter or makers so that you know which moves were made by which players. This can be helpful as a teacher when you are observing game play to make notes.
Set a timer for 1 minute for each player’s turn. This adds an increased challenge due to the time constraint.
Allow any player to challenge an opponent if the player does not choose the number that will score the most points. The challenger could then receive the difference between the number points scored by the original player and the greater number of points that the challenger identified.
Play Contig Jr. with students in first grade through mid third grade.
You can pick up blank dice and add different representations of the numbers besides the typical dot patterns. Try using numerals, number words, tally marks or even ten frames if you have enough space.
Resources
Be sure to check out Dr. Broadbent’s website with game boards and variations. https://contigmathgame.blogspot.com/
Lisa from Gifted Guru created additional versions and colored game boards that are free!
