| Baseball Multiplication | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Materials: |
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Number of Players: |
Two (2) equal-sized teams |
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Directions:
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Someone flips a coin to decide which team "bats" first. The game rules are similar to the rules for baseball. But here a game lasts seven innings or until time runs out. In each inning, each team bats until it has made three outs. The team with the most run when the game is over wins.
Pitching and Batting: Dice rolls correspond to baseball pitches. Members of the pitching team take turns being "pitcher" by rolling the two dice. Players on the batting team take turns being "batter" by multiplying the two numbers on the dice and giving the product. Batters can ask others on their team for help. Players on the pitching team check the batter's solution by using a Multiplication/Division Facts Table or a calculator (optional). If the solution is correct, depending on the size of the product, the batter either pops "out" or moves a penny along the diamond for a single, double, triple, or home run (see Scoring Chart below). An incorrect solution is a "strike," and another pitch (dice roll) is thrown. Three strikes make an out. How runs are scored: When a player hits a single, he or she moves a penny to first base; for a double, the move is to second base; for a triple, third base; and for a home run, all the way around the bases. Any pennies already on bases are moved ahead of the batter's penny by the same number of bases. A run is scored every time a penny crosses home plate.
How an out is made: An out is made when a batter has three strikes (errors)--or when the product of a two-dice throw (roll) is 5 or less. Keeping score: For each inning, players keep track of the runs scored and the outs made in the Runs and Outs columns on Game Master 5. At the end of each inning, players record the total runs for that inning on the Scoreboard. (For future games, children can use slates or scratch paper.) To win: The team with the most runs at the end of seven innings, or when time runs out, wins. |
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Game Variations: Use a 10-sided die or a 12-sided die. Generate the multiplication facts by rolling the die twice. The Scoring Chart changes as shown.
A harder version uses four 6-sided dice. Players must then think about sum combinations that make the largest factors. For example, a player who rolls a 1, 2, 3, and 4 has these choices: (1 + 2) x (3+4) = 3 x 7 = 21
A super-hard version uses three 6-sided dice. Players multiply the three numbers together to make a hit. The Scoring Chart changes as shown.
Hint: Show children that when a 1 appears on one of the dice, the product of the three numbers will at most be 36 and, therefore, an out. Use a 12-sided die. Decide how to use 11 and 12. They can be ignored (in which case, players roll again), or be treated as 10 or 0, or be used as factors. The Scoring Chart changes as shown.
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