Math Pac Man


For anyone who enjoyed playing the old Pac Man arcade game, you are going to love Math Man. The objective of the original game is to maneuver through a maze, attempting to eat all of the dots on the screen while avoiding ghost characters.


Retrieved from http://www.mathgametime.com/games/math-pac-man

The math twist in this game is that all the ghosts appear labeled with numbers, and the top of the screen displays math equations. One of the several ghosts are labeled with the correct answer to the math question, therefore, if you can solve the equation you must eat the correct ghost. If you accidentally eat the wrong ghost, you lose a life (given 3 lives in total) but if you eat all of the ghosts correctly, you move on to the next level. As you clear each level, more ghosts appear resulting in more equations to solve.

 The equations contain combinations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, which need to be solved in a time sensitive manner. This game has a high score board, which encourages the player to continue playing in order to reach a high score. This can be highly motivating to young competitive students who want to do well and beat their friends, and it is a great way to encourage students to practice math skills.


Retrieved from http://www.mathgametime.com/games/math-pac-man


Relating to the Math Curriculum
The 2005 Ontario Curriculum for grades 1-8 in Mathematics provides detailed expectations and identifies Number Sense and Numeration as the main strand related to Math Pac Man. According to the curriculum guidelines, these games would both be appropriate for grade 4 students but could also be used as a review for higher grades. 

Overall Expectation: "Solve problems involving the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of single- and multi-digit whole numbers." (page 66)

Specific ExpectationOperational Sense -  add and subtract two-digit numbers,u sing a variety of mental strategies (e.g. one way to calculate 73 – 39 is to subtract 40 from 73 to get 33, and then add 1 back to get 34); multiply to 9 x 9 and divide to 81 ÷ 9, using a variety of mental strategies (e.g., doubles,doubles plus another set,skip counting); multiply two-digit whole numbers by one-digit whole numbers,using a variety of tools (e.g.,base ten materials or drawings of them,arrays),student-generated algorithms,and standard algorithms; multiply whole numbers by 10,100,and 1000,and divide whole numbers by 10 and 100,using mental strategies (e.g.,use a calculator to look for patterns and generalize to develop a rule). (page 66)

Process ExpectationProblem Solving - develop, select, and apply problem-solving strategies as they pose and solve problems and conduct investigations, to help deepen their mathematical understanding. Connecting - make connections among mathematical concepts and procedures,and relate mathematical ideas to situations or phenomena drawn from other contexts (e.g. other curriculum areas, daily life, sports). Representing - create a variety of representations of mathematical ideas (e.g. by using physical models, pictures, numbers, variables, diagrams, graphs, onscreen dynamic representations), make connections among them, and apply them to solve problems. (page 65)

Final Thoughts
Overall I think this game would be appealing to a lot of students who are studying math, and can be used for a variety of different grade levels from grade 4 and up. For grades 4 and 5, I would recommend giving students the option to use a calculator since the equations are sometimes long and complicated. Some students may also prefer to use a pencil and paper to work through the questions. Either way, this game offers a fun platform for doing math in a way that is appealing and engaging.  

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