My students enjoy using maths programs and I find they are a really useful way for them to practise and consolidate their skills. However, the difficulty is finding programs which provide maths practise at the right level but that aren’t obviously aimed at young children. My students are young adults and they want to be doing work that reflects that. Here are some of the free maths programs that I have found during my searches and that my students enjoy.
My go-to place when I start looking for a maths program is Topmarks because you can access programs on a range of topics. The programs I write about below are all available via Topmarks – however this is just because there are great programs available, I’m not being paid or otherwise recompensed by Topmarks.
Numbers to Words Fruit Splat
Some of my students’ favourite games to play are the Splat games. They are available for a few topics but the game play is the same each time which is great as the students come to the game already knowing how to play.
The idea of Numbers to Words Fruit Splat is that you read the word then use your mouse (or finger on a touchscreen) to drag it to the correct numeral which is displayed on a piece of fruit which is moving around the screen. If you match it with the correct number you hear a satisfying splat sound and a new word appears. If you try to match it to the incorrect numeral a cross appears on the numeral and you hear a different sound. There is a scoreboard in the corner so you and the player can follow their progress.
When they game is over a scoreboard shows how many hits and misses there were, what the overall percentage correct and score were – very useful for the teacher. The game has 4 levels: 1-10, 1-20, 1-100, 1-1000. There are also different settings available which can be reset for each new game. You can set the fruit to move slow or fast and you can also set the game to play in timed mode which sets up a 40 second game. The different levels of number and the various modes of game play give enough differentiation for all of my class to be challenged and enjoy a game.
Fruit Splat Addition
This was the first Splat game I discovered and used with my class. As you can see from the screenshot the program is presented and played in the same way as the Splat game discussed above. This helps the student to approach the task with confidence because even if they’re not sure about the maths skills they know how to play the game.
This game has seven different levels which you can reset in-between each game. They go from sums within 10 through to 2 digit numbers with regrouping. A scoreboard shows between each game so that you can monitor progress.
My students play this game using a calculator but other players might find number lines or 100 squares useful.
Robot Addition
This addition game is another student favourite. As you can see from the screenshot the player is presented with a row of robots with sums on their bodies which they have to drag to the correct answer. Once all the robots are in place a ‘check’ button appears and if all the answers are correct the robots flash and a robotic voice says ‘well done.’ If some are incorrect those robots fall back down to their initial position and the voice says ‘try again.’ There is a number line at the bottom of the screen (not visible in my screenshot) which the players can use to help them complete the addition sums. There is a ‘Hide’ bottom to the left of the number line if you don’t want this to be available. There are 3 levels of the game: up to 10, up to 15 and up to 20.
Coconut Ordering
As you can see from the screenshot the Coconut Ordering game offers a lot of options. I have only used the prices and the numbers with my students. The idea of the game is that you order whatever you have selected from smallest to largest. This is left to right and clearly marked on the screen. You click on the items in order, smallest first and as you click on one a ball comes up from the bottom of the screen and hits it, just like a coconut shy, and the coconut disappears leaving the number/price etc. in the appropriate box.
When all the coconuts have been played a ‘check’ box appears for the player to click. If all answers are correct a positive message is heard and ‘That’s right’ appears on the screen. If some answers are incorrect those coconuts reappear on the shy and the message says ‘try again.’
There is a very wide range of options for ordering. Numbers alone goes from 0-10 through to 0-1000. It also has -10 to 10 and includes use of decimal places in other levels. This is another great game if you need to differentiate fairly widely in your group.
Pay Using 1 Coin
I find it particularly difficult to find money games at the right skill level for my students which aren’t all about buying toys for multiples of 1p. Even with this game I am quite directive about the levels they play. However, this game allows for buying clothes and food which are very appropriate things to be talking about with my young adult students. The options I choose for my students, depending on their skills, are paying for food with 10p coins, paying for clothes with £1 or £2 coins. As the screenshot shows the player is shown an item with the price listed. They have to drag the correct amount of coins to the price tag. They can then click on ‘check.’ If they are correct they hear a cheer and a speech bubble saying ‘That’s right’ appears above the girl. The player then needs to click on the ‘new’ button for the next item to appear. If the answer is incorrect the girls mouth turns down and a speech bubble appears saying ‘Try again.’ The prices are not realistic, of course, as the numbers would have to be too big but it does give players chance to practise using multiple coins to make up amounts of money.
I hope that this quick look at a few programs has been useful and given you some ideas. If you have any resources that you would like to recommend we’d love to hear from you.
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