Bellomo Games Resource Page
Latest update to this document: 2 April 2003
Game Links
ArithmAttack is a good drilling site. Like A Plus Math that follows, it is intended to give practice to
students learning their basic operations. One thing I really like about this drilling site is that it
allows you to do operations randomly. This automatically mixes up problems forcing students to really
keep an eye on that operation sign, which will be an essential skill to learning algebra later on as well
as many other day to day mathematical applications.
This is a site
I've made valuable use of in my tutoring. One thing I've found is that students aren't doing as much of
the drilling memorization of their multiplication tables as even we did. I remember having to know
through 12 by the end of third grade. A couple of the students in fifth grade I've worked with are
struggling still with this. These skills, though they can be tedious to practice, are essential for more
complex math operations. Tedious as they can be, without them, students can quickly develop a distaste
for math becuase many of the beginning skills in math are a stuggle without them. This is a good way
for kids to practice with their knowledge and love for computers, this seems more like a game than
practice. You bring out flash cards and they just sigh and get bored but if they do the same thing on
the computer, their attitude is completely different. This site has a couple games for the same type
of drilling practices and all are very helpful.
This is basicly
a version of the game I remember as Memory. As cards are turned, they have to be matched to like cards.
After two selections they turn back over face down so the next time you have to remember where they are.
This is a really good game for children to start remembering strategies and practice remembering.
These memory skills are tools students need and will use in literature comprehension as well as math
equations and all other facets of education. It's a lot of fun even as an adult and with practice you
really do get better. It's a good game for a wide variety of ages. I'd say from second grade on up.
Wordsearch
is something I remember doing as a child and I really liked it. I think many children do. It isn't
that difficult to do which allows success but is challenging enough that it doesn't feel like a "baby"
game as children will often say. I love word search because it makes children look at the letters and
how they fit together and their order. This helps children recognize and remember words as patterns
and phonetic assemblies rather than just functions of oral communication.
This site is nice
for the student learning geometric definitions. Probably aimed at fourth-seventh grade, this site
allows students to be quizzed on their geometry terms by means of a few different versions of matching
games. One reason I like this site is that students can go both ways, from the definition to the term
or from the term to the definition. Working with a couple of students currently on this type of
material I see the benefit of going both ways. Sometimes students remember the definition more than the
term and vice versa. This gives them a chance to figure it out while playing a game.
Of all the pages I found, this is one
of my favorites. This site allows you to pick by either grade level or by topic. From here, several
games are available for each. Some are a matter of "beating" the clock (seeing how many you can get in
a set amount of time) while others are more direct Q and A. In whatever case, these games are a good
way for children to become familiar with math concepts while having fun.
School Links
Link to Northern Michigan University
R.Bellomo: rbellomo@nmu.edu