Use this teaching resource when teaching students about fact families involving addition and subtraction up to 20.

Print out the resource on cardstock and cut out the game squares. Place them in a resealable bag to be used again and again.

The Ultimate Math Game

This addition and subtraction game is designed to show your students the relationship between fact families. The amazing thing about it, however, is that you can use the same cards in 5 different ways! This means that you can use one game, five times! You can print this game once, and use it for five math rotations… five group activities… five lessons of math.

Without a doubt, printing this humble game will change your fact family numeracy lessons forever.

How to Use the Resource

• Students will play this game in pairs. First, they need to place all of the game squares faceup between them.
• Students take turns rolling one die. Then, students must find the card where their number completes the addition sentence and the matching subtraction sentence, e.g. they roll a 4 so they can complete the card 7 + ___ = 11 and the matching subtraction sentence is 11 – 7 = ___. When they find them, they flip them both over.
• Play continues until all of the cards have been flipped over.

Independent Fact Family Work

The wonderful thing about this activity is that it can be used for group work AND independent learning. Simply give the worksheet to students as a whole piece of paper. Students can work out the answer to each question independently. Following this, you can choose how they show the fact families!

Why not ask students to color matching pairs in the same shade? Or, alternatively, instruct your students to cut out the fact families and stick them side by side in their math journals.

Fact Family Group Bingo

Traditional Bingo can get a revamp with this game! This game is suitable for 2 – 4 players.

1. Print out one copy of the fact family worksheet for each student.
2. The students take turns rolling the two dice. The student who rolls then finds the matching fact families on their board and places counters on both of the sums.
3. The first student to get four counters in a row is the winner!

Fact Family Memory Game

1. Play this game in pairs or groups of three. Start with all your fact family squares cut out and arranged face down on the carpet or table.
2. Students take turns flipping over two cards. When they have found two equations that make a fact family they get to keep them! If they don’t match, they place them back face down.
3. At the end of the game, the student who has the most cards is the winner!

Snap! Your Fact Family

Snap is a game of speed and concentration!

1. Play in pairs. First, shuffle the cut-out squares and give half to each player, face down.
2. Players take turns flipping a card over and placing it on a pile in the middle.
3. If two cards that make a fact family are placed on top of each other, the players must race to place their hand on the pile and say ‘Snap!’.
4. The winner gets to keep all the cards in the pile. The game ends when all the cards are used up and in one player’s possession – this player is the winner!