Digi Math Vocabulary Games

Our Year 5 Math Vocabulary Games are a MUST-have if you want to help your kids improve their math vocabulary. Perfect Online math games for your math centres and warm-ups.

“Not being able to read the question” is the number 1 reason, given by teachers, for their kids not doing well at maths testing. In this post, you’ll get fun math vocabulary Games {Online} to help your kid

“Not being able to read the question” is really surprising, as the kids are generally doing well at “reading” in the English  Learning Area. So why is there a problem in maths?

Researchers have found that kids struggle with reading math questions because:

• Reading math questions is very different to reading regular literacy texts. It’s dense and includes symbols and graphics.

• Fewer words are used in math texts compared to very detailed paragraphs in novels. So kids need excellent inferencing and contextual understanding skills to be able to make sense of math questions.
• The meaning of words changes significantly in math problems compared to how they are used in everyday life. E.g. volume might mean the sound control on a T.V. remote but in mathematics it is linked to measurement. 
• Many words in maths have more than one meaning, that changes in different contexts, e.g. square is a shape, but can also be a square number.
• Some words are unique to maths which means students cannot take an informed guess as to the meaning. E.g. numerator and denominator.

So spending time on building math vocabulary will have a huge impact on student achievement.

Don’t take my word for this,  there’s lots of research to back it up too. Studies by Swan & Dunstan; Hirsh & Nation found:

• vocabulary is connected with reading comprehension and is a predictor of students’ comprehension
• Students need to know 90-95% of the words in a text before they can comprehend that text
• Vocabulary needs to be explicitly taught first
• Students from low socioeconomic areas need greater support
• Teaching math vocabulary can help raise student achievement levels
• Students with high vocabulary are better at mathematical reasoning

So it’s pretty clear that including math vocabulary activities are a MUST, and if included, will increase the level of achievement for students. Now we’re all for that!

Year 5 Math Vocabulary Digital Word Searches

To help you build Math vocabulary with your Year 5 students we created a set of Online Math Vocabulary Word Search Games.

There are Word Searches Games for Number & Algebra, Measurement & Geometry & Statistics & Probability math vocabulary. Each word search includes a list of words that your students will, see, hear, read & use in the Year Five math curriculum. 

The best bit is they are NO Prep, all you need is an internet connection to play! 

As well as building a bank of words the word searches should be used to facilitate “Number Talks” or “Math Chats” about each mathematical concept.

These word search games are interactive and self-checking and have the math words shown on the right-hand side.

How To Play Math Vocabulary Games

To play these games you will need:

• an internet connection & modern browser, we suggest Google Chrome
• a digital device like an iPad, interactive whiteboard, laptop or PC
• the Student Password to share with your students. Note – Only PAID Premium members will be able to access this Student Password

To get the Password To Share With Students:

• Log into your account & click the Students Password link in your account
• or Go To The Student Password Page 

How to use the QR Code Below

We know getting a class full of students to play the right games can be tricky so we have made it easy for them all to be in the right place at the right time with a QR Code. Simply display this page on your interactive whiteboard and get your students to scan the QR Code below. Once they scan it all the students will be directed to the math vocabulary games page and the online games you want them to play! Nifty!

Use the QR Code to help organise your students.

• Display this page on your interactive whiteboard
• Give your students the “Student Access Password”
• Students scan the QR Code with their device to get to this list of Math Vocabulary Word Games
• Students then Click the image of the game to play