Foreheads

Foreheads

This one is a challenging game. Children practice addition facts with missing addends. It helps children understand the relationship between addition and subtraction. I play this game repeatedly throughout the year. It's a great refresher for basic facts.

Also, some of my children are not ready to understand the relationship between addition and subtraction until later in the year. It's very exciting when a child runs over to me after playing this game in April and excitedly explains the connection he just noticed between addition and subtraction.

Supplies

1 deck of cards for each group of 3 children

How to Play

1. Remove all face cards from the deck.
2. Choose one player to be the "teacher" first. (All children will get a turn.)
3. The "teacher" hands one facedown card to each contestant. Children are not allowed to look at their own cards.
4. The contestants hold their cards on their foreheads WITHOUT EVER LOOKING AT THEIR OWN NUMBER. The cards are held face out so that the opponent can see the number.
5. The "teacher" quickly adds the two numbers together and calls out the sum.
6. The two contestants race to identify their own number using the sum and the card they can see on the opponents head.
   1. For example, in this hand, the host would call out the sum, 13.
      
   2. The player on the left knows that his opponent has a 4, so he subtracts 13 – 4 to identify his number, 9.

7. The first contestant to identify his own number collects both cards.
8. Play continues until the deck is gone. The winner is the contestant with the most cards.
9. Play again, and choose a new game show host.