Demolition Division

Well, we made it!  Today was the last day of our math class and we all presented the online games or digital word problems we found throughout the semester. The game I found was Demolition Division.

Markes, A. (2017, December 1). Demolition Division [Snapshot].

Demolition Division is a game for students who are learning their division facts. Here's how to play: Your tank is behind a wall and each bomb you blast has the answer to a division fact. Multiple tanks come at you at once, each with a different division fact written on them. You need to blast the answer at the correct division fact, blowing up as many tanks as you can in the limited amount of time given, or before those division-fact tanks break down your wall! The game offers three speeds of the approaching tanks, slow, normal and fast, making this game great for all students no matter their division skills. I would recommend this game particularly to grade 4, as it corresponds to the Number Sense and Numeration strand of the Ontario Mathematics Curriculum. Overall, students are expected to "solve problems involving the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of single- and multi-digit whole numbers" (pp. 66). Specifically, students are expected to "[...] divide to 81 ÷ 9, using a variety of mental strategies" and " divide two-digit whole numbers by one-digit whole numbers, using a variety of tools" (pp. 67), which this game reinforces.

Demolition Division meets two mathematical processes: reflecting and selecting tools and computational strategies. While playing, students are checking their mental math strategies by either getting the right or wrong answer. The wrong answer allows the tanks to advance, making it harder to defend the structure. I like that at the end of the game, you can see questions you missed and what the correct answer is instead. This game is just another tool for students to use to strengthen their division skills.

Markes, A. (2017, December 1). Demolition Division [Snapshot].

This game is engaging, entertaining and best of all, progressive. There are six different levels the student can go through before mastering the game, giving the student a sense of accomplishment after completing each level and encouraging them to continue on. Plus, this game can be modified to focus on a specific set of division facts, for example dividing by 4's, or it can cover multiple division facts to really strengthen students' division skills.

Markes, A. (2017, December 1). Demolition Division [Snapshot].

I would use this game in my classroom once I have taught how a few lessons on division and I feel that my students are ready to try division at a quicker pace. I would have the students play this game (however many times they want) in a week and record their best scores. That way, I can see how the students are progressing; if any students are having difficulty, and the students themselves can also see how they are doing. Or, I could post a high score that the students have to try to achieve every week.

I did receive quite a bit of feedback about the time constraint on the game. When students are under pressure to get the right answer, the focus is taken away from the process, which is what we should be enforcing. Time constraints can cause anxiety among students especially if they are getting the wrong answers consistently. To lessen the anxiety, I would use this game as preparation for tests, so students can learn to work in test-like conditions. Or, we agreed that this game could be used as an extension activity, when students finish other work and want to work on their division skills.