Online Games for Grades 2-3
Counting and Ordering
Whack a Mole. Players set the start number (0-100) and the number they will count by (1-20). The starting number will be displayed at the top of the screen. The player clicks on the number that comes next when they see a mole labeled with that number pop out of a hole. Second and third graders can practice counting by 1 from any number (e.g. 12, 37), and skip counting by numbers to 10 (e.g. count by 3’s, 6’s, or 10’s).
Addition and Subtraction
Connect Sums. Players click on dot cubes (or numerals, or coins) that touch to make the target amount, which changes after each correct answer. There is a “solve mode” and a “race mode”.
Sums Stacker. Players rearrange three stacks of dot cubes (or numerals, or coins) to make 3 target sums. There are rules about moving the dot cubes that require strategic thinking. There is a “solve mode” and a “race mode”.
Techno Tortoise. Players direct a turtle on a number line to solve a given addition problem making only jumps of +10, +5, and +/- 1.
Subtraction Action. Players choose a string of single digit numbers from a large board of the numbers 0-9, that when subtracted from the given amount, equal the given total. (50 – ? – 17)
Addition and Subtraction Facts
Save the Whale. Given two labeled pipes of 10, side by side, the player has to complete the partially filled in one (e.g. if it has 6 links, the player needs to drag the one with 4 links up) to save the whale.
Math Lines: Add to 10. The player needs to shoot a ball labeled with a number 1-10. If it hits the number that sums with it to make 10, both balls disappear (i.e. try to shoot the 7 so that it hits a 3).
Add It Up. Players start with a board full of the numbers 1-9. The target number changes each time the player succeeds in making the previous one – using any number of squares (and they don’t have to be adjacent).
Alien Addition. Players are given a total and must shoot a space ship whose expression equals that total. Players can set the range of the content and the speed at which they’d like to play: slow, normal, or fast. At the end of the game, statistics are provided, including information about errors.
Jet Ski. Video-game-like practice of the addition combinations. A problem is posed, and the player has to click on the correct answer (of 3 choices) to get the jetski to drive faster and win the race. After, the game provides statistics including information about errors.
Island Chase. Video-game-like practice of the subtraction facts. A problem is posed, and the player has to click on the correct answer (of 3 choices) to get the jetski to drive faster and win the race. After, the game provides statistics including information about errors.
Minus Mission. Players are given a difference and must shoot a green blob whose expression equals that number. Players can set the range of the content and the speed at which they’d like to play: slow, normal, or fast. At the end of the game, statistics are provided, including information about errors.
Place Value
Shark Numbers. Given three possible numbers, click on the one that shows how many base 10 blocks there are. If wrong, a shark takes a bite of the boat.
Lifeguards. Players try to save swimmers located on a number line using only jumps of 10 or 1. (A move of ten 1’s is not allowed.)
Money
Sums Stacker: Coins. On the home page, click on the coin. Then, rearrange the coins to make the 3 totals. Players need to work strategically since coins can’t necessarily be moved singly if they are not at the top of a column.(This game requires Adobe’s Shockwave download.)
Connect Sums: Coins. On the home page, click on the coin. Then, click on combinations of coins – they must be neighbors – that make the target amount, which changes after each right answer. The goal: clear the board. (This game requires Adobe’s Shockwave download.)
Cash Out. Students count out change for customers, depending on what they purchase. Students choose the level (easy, medium, hard), whether they want hints displayed, and whether they need to figure out how much change to provide (vs. providing a given amount of change).
Multiplication and Multiplication Facts
Wade’s Workout. Help Wade get in shape by punching the correct answer to a given multiplication question. (Or by choosing food for him to eat, weights for him to lift, or umbrellas along his run.) Students can work on specific facts or three sets of mixed problems. During each round, the game keeps track of the number of right/wrong answers.
Knights of Math. Players select a level (that correlates to the sets of facts it tests) and then choose the correct answers to given multiplication problems. With each correct answer, a piece of the kingdom is placed on the screen. After 60 correct answers, students can design their own kingdom.
Geometry and Measurement
Concentration. The player tries to find matches between shapes and shape names. The cards can be face-up or face-down. The computer will read the words aloud if requested.
Tangram Puzzles. Students arrange a set of 2-D shapes to form a picture.
Symmetry. This site offers explains and offers explorations of reflective and rotational symmetry. Students can also make their own symmetrical designs.
Data
Pattern Quest. Much like the familiar game Master Mind, students get 8 tries to guess the four cars (and their order) that the computer has secretly chosen. After each attempt, the computer gives feedback. (At the easy level, the game tells which car(s) are correctly placed; in the hard level, the game gives feedback only about the cars used, not their placement.) After the 8th and final try, the answer is revealed to them if they did not figure it out. (From PBS’s Cyberchase Games.)
Patterns and Functions
Function Machine. Students have to guess the rule the machine is using to change numbers as they pass through it. The machine collects data about the numbers that have gone into and out of the machine. They guess the rule by entering the operation and the number (e.g. x 10 would mean the machine multiples every number that goes through it by 10). (From PBS’s Cyberchase Games.)