Fact Fluency is super important because it helps students become more fluent in addition and subtraction, it helps them solve related math facts quickly, and it also helps to strengthen their mental math skills. This resource is best used as a math center or fast finisher activity. I use it as a math center and keep all my boards and card rings in a math center bin for students to grab when it’s their turn at the math fluency center. They can play this fact fluency game with a partner, or independently. There are several ways to prep, set up, and play this center and you can read more below!

Prepping This Station

There are several ways to prep this fact fluency game. Before prepping, you’ll need to decide if you want to print in color, or if you want to print in black and white on colored paper. Color-coding this game makes it so much easier for students to know which cards go with each game board.

Prepping This Station

Option 1: Print your game boards in color (with the colored headers). Then print your colored game cards (with the colored outlines). Cut your cards, hole punch them in the corner, and put them on a binder ring. You could also put them in a bag, but I like having all the cards together so they can’t get lost. Students will cover the spots on their boards with two-sided counters, or you can laminate the boards and they can play with dry erase marker.

Option 2: Print your game boards in black and white on colored paper. Then print your black and white game cards on the same-colored paper so that the board and the cards match. Cut your cards, hole punch them in the corner, and put them on a binder ring. You could also put them in a bag, but I like having all the cards together so they can’t get lost. Students will cover the spots on their boards with two-sided counters, or you can laminate the boards and they can play with dry erase marker.

I keep my game boards and card rings in a math center bin with a label that matches our Math Center Rotation Board. The boards and labels can be found HERE. I teach students to grab a game board, the matching deck of cards on a ring, and a bag of two-sided color counters. (If you are laminating the boards or sticking them in a dry erase sleeve, then you’d have students grab a dry erase marker instead of counters).

It’s important to teach students to grab the correct card color that matches their board, or else the game won’t work for them. This isn’t an issue though since cards and boards are color-coded. I also teach students how to play alone if they can’t find a partner, and I also teach them how to play with a partner.

You can let students play any board color, or you can assign them to a board color based on the skills that you see them portray in small groups. EX: if the student is still struggling with basic fact fluency 1-5, you would tell them to play the red or orange board. If a student is high-achieving, you can tell them that they could play any board color.

How Do You Play?

Individually: Student will flip a card over on the card ring. They will look for the answer on their board. Then they will cover the answer with a two-sided counter or mark it with their dry erase marker. If the student flips a card and can’t find the answer on their board, they can flip another card until they can find an available answer space to cover. Once they get 5 in a row, they are the “winner”, and they can play again until the center time is finished.

Partner: Student A will flip a card over on the card ring. They will look for the answer on their board. Then they will cover the answer with a two-sided counter or mark it with their dry erase marker. If the student flips a card and can’t find the answer on their board, they can flip another card until they can find an available answer space to cover. Student B will do the same. When Student B covers their space on the board, they will use the opposite color counter or will make a different mark on the board with their dry erase marker (ex: X’s and O’s). Students will take turns and play until someone gets 5 in a row. The first person to get 5 in a row is the “winner”, and students can clear the board and they can play again until the center time is finished.