Subtraction is one of those skills that needs an in-depth introduction or review with additional, consistent practice all year long. Keeping the practice choices simple, flexible, and engaging is key. Perfect Zero is a math game I like to introduce early in the year. I love it because we can play as a whole group, or in partners at a center.
How I Structure my Math Block
Fitting games into our math block is a top priority! I try to introduce one per week during whole group time and then include it during independent practice and centers. I rotate the games so students don’t become bored. We have about 75 minutes for our math block:
- Whole group lesson: 10-15 minutes
- Guided practice: 15 minutes
- Independent practice: 10-15 minutes
- Centers: 30 minutes (2 rotations per day)
Below is an example of our math rotations. Sometimes I even introduce a game during teacher table time so that I can differentiate for each group!
Teaching Games to Students
When introducing games, I like to play as a whole class first. Typically, we play students versus teacher, which they LOVE! I love how it is a friendly competition and builds class community as they work together to beat me. This also leads to VERY high engagement. When we are playing as a class, I love to use these huge, inflatable dice. It just adds to the fun and often results in 100% participation.
How to Play Perfect Zero
Materials: 1 die, scratch paper
Objective: End with exactly zero
Directions:
- In partners, each player writes the same number on their scratch paper (for example, 15)
- Take turns rolling one die
- Subtract the number the die lands on from your starting number
- Continue with this step back and forth until a player reaches exactly zero
- If you cannot subtract your number (for example, you have 4 left and you roll a 6), your turn is skipped
This game and 12 more ideas can be found here.
Differentiation Ideas
Change the Starting Number
- Easier: Begin with a smaller number (like 10) so the game finishes quickly and struggling students get more turns to practice without fatigue.
- Harder: Begin with a larger number (like 25, 50, or 100) to stretch fluency with subtraction facts and regrouping.
Use different dice
- Easier: Use a whiteboard dice and use only 1, 2, or 3.
- Harder: Roll two dice and subtract the total, or roll two dice and choose which number to subtract. You could even use 10-sided dice for an extra challenge.
Incorporate multiple operations
- Easier: Allow students to “add back” if they overshoot (e.g., if they roll too high, they can add 1 or 2 instead).
- Harder: Let advanced students use both addition and subtraction strategically to land exactly on zero (choose whether to add or subtract each roll).
More Resources
I hope you can use this game in your classroom with your students. Love playing math games? Click here for another one of my favorites to use all year long.
