A Deck Of Cards As A Substitute For Math Flashcards
Hello there. Math flashcards are a great way for sharpening the students' skills on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Sometimes it is hard to find math flashcards in stores. A good alternative to math flashcards is a deck of cards. A deck of cards can provide a lot of utility from an education (and entertainment) perspective.
Topics
- Even And Odd Numbers
- Addition Exercises
- Subtraction Exercises
- Multiplication Exercises
- Division Exercises
- Including Negative Numbers Into The Mix
Even And Odd Numbers Exercises
With a deck of standard playing cards treat aces as ones and face cards (Jack, Queen, King) as ten.
Flip a card face up and quiz the young student. Ask him/her if the value of that card is even or odd.
Addition Exercises
Playing cards are great for addition exercises in a flashcard style format. You can treat aces as ones or eleven and have the face cards treated as ten.
Quiz the student on the value of two cards added together. A natural extension is adding a third or fourth card.
Subtraction Exercises
Subtraction with a deck of cards is very similar to the additon version. Be mindful if the young student knows negative numbers or not. Remind the student that we read from left to right for subtraction. For example 9 and 4 from left to right would be 9 - 4 which is 5.
Multiplication Exercises
With multiplication with a deck of cards you can do multiplication of up to 10. For up to ten times table treat the aces as one and the face cards as ten.
Another variation would be to have the Jacks as 11, Queens as 12 and Kings as 13. This would testing multiplication of up to 13.
Division Exercises
Division with playing cards can be tricky. One way would be to state a large number such as 40 and then ask the student to pick a card at random. The student would try to find the answer of 40 divided by the value of that card. If that card number is nice, the answer would be a whole number. If not, you would get a mixed number. Ask if the student is able to find mixed numbers and adjust accordingly.
Including Negative Numbers Into The Mix
You can include negative numbers in the mix when the student is good with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Red cards represent negative numbers and black cards are positive numbers.
Addition & Subtraction
Remind the student that order matters and that numbers are computed from left to right. Subtracting a negative number results in addition.
Multiplication & Division
With multiplication and division, playing cards are very good here. Red cards are neagtive and black cards are positive. Positive and positive is positive, positive and negative is negative, negative and positive is negative and two negatives is a positive in this case.
Here is a summary chart.
| Sign One | Sign Two | Sign Of Answer |
|---|---|---|
| + | + | + |
| + | - | - |
| - | + | - |
| - | - | + |
