Using Math Games in the Classroom: Starters, Centres and Fast Finishers
By the Duck Math team ·
Short games can turn practice into the best five minutes of a lesson. Used with a purpose, they give every child lots of attempts and give you quick feedback on who needs help.
Five-minute starters
Project Quick Sum Sprint or Times Tables Duck Race and let pairs take turns while the class settles. Ask the group to predict a score first.
Practice centres
Set one device at a centre with a single target: "7× table in Times Tables Duck Race" or "fractions with different denominators in Fraction Feast". Rotate groups every ten minutes.
Fast finishers
Point early finishers to a game that practises the same skill as the lesson, so extra time still counts.
Exit tickets and checks
Ask each child to write down their best score and the one fact they still miss. That list is a ready-made practice plan.
Practical tips
- Test sound beforehand: games have music that can be muted with the speaker button or the M key.
- Games save progress in the browser, so pupils on shared devices will not see their own scores.
- No account or personal data is needed.