Race to the Top Game

WHAT YOU NEED

• Race to the Top Gameboard: Player 1 (print, copy)
• Race to the Top Gameboard: Player 2 (print, copy)
• Counters
• Two different colored game pieces (e.g., people counters)
• Two sets of number cards 0 - 5, shuffled and stacked in one pile

1. Children play the game in pairs. Give out Player 1 and Player 2 gameboards. Each person picks a card from the deck. The person with the higher number goes first. (Pick again if necessary to break a tie.) Put each game piece at Start on the player sheets.

2. The player who goes first picks two cards from the pile and finds the sum. Players may use counters to model the addition sentence and help find the sum. The child then moves his or her game piece along the number path until he or she reaches the first square that has the sum of the two numbers in it. The game piece stays there, and the other child now takes a turn.

3. As the players head up the mountain, if there is no sum on the board matching their sum, they must skip a turn.

4. Play continues until one player's game piece reaches the top of the mountain.

Children can also play the game using two number cubes or dot cubes. You might also want children to play back down the mountain.