Wild Cards: The Secret Sauce to Get Them Thinking
We’re pretty excited. Welcome to what we hope will become a place to talk about math learning and how to help kids think deeply, build confidence, and find joy in math!
So why start out with a post about wild cards?
Well, besides the fact that kids LOVE the wild cards in Wild Side cards and get (really) excited when they draw one, wild cards make the difference between a perfectly good math card game - and a powerful one that can boost learning.
Wild cards have been around for centuries. From poker to rummy, they add an element of unpredictability, strategy and excitement that can elevate any card game. Let’s explore why wild cards are so important when playing math card games, whether you are playing with a standard deck and giving those jokers this important role or using Wild Side cards.
Strategy and Decision Making
When kids are playing with math, they want to, well, win! Great math card games make kids think about numbers and how they can be manipulated and used strategically to beat their opponents. It’s so fun to watch a learner draw a wild card. Really, just watch what happens. This is when that player is motivated to dig deeper into their knowledge about how numbers work in order to use that card in the most strategic way possible, excitedly making mental computations to make the smartest possible play. This isn’t just play anymore, even though that wild card just ramped up the fun. It’s rigor. That player is, mentally or with pencil in hand, considering which out of the possible values of the wild card will bring the best advantage.
More Excitement and Variability
Wild cards introduce an element of surprise into the game. Players never know when that wild card will appear, keeping engagement sky high. With wild cards, the game plays out in unpredictable ways each time, increasing the focus of players on the game, the anticipation, and the overall fun factor. Players can even be challenged to make up different rules for how wild cards can be used and try these out to see how the game changes!
Everyone’s Involved and Engaged
In many games, wild cards can help to level the playing field. If some players art still striving to master concepts that help them make the best decisions during play, a wild card can give those players a chance to catch up and stay in the game. Also, when one player draws a wild card, all players are watching to see how they are using it as an advantage. This is math talk! It can help build deeper understanding of numbers and concepts for everyone at the table!
What are your favorite card games with wild cards? Have you added wild cards into math games and other learning activities using cards? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below, and thank you for spreading a love of math!
Bonus Activity
What’s Our Pattern?
Whole or Small Group Activity, grades 1-6
Skills: Creating, Reading, and Extending Number Patterns
Materials: Paper and Pencils
Divide the class into four teams (if using in a larger group). Have students name their teams (you may want to give them parameters as in “forest animals,” or “flying creatures,” for younger students or “reptiles,” “state capitals” for older teams (incorporate other current classroom topics of study?).
NOTE: This activity can be used with as few as ONE student (and one parent/instructor). If using only one student, the parent/instructor plays the part of a second student and participates in pattern design and pattern solving.
Give each team a single-colored set of cards 0-20 and no wild cards.
Give each team four clean sheets of 8 ½ by 11 paper and have them number the landscape sheets from 1 to 3.
Tell teams they are to come up with three possible number patterns with any number of cards. Tell teams to write their three patterns on one of the sheets of paper (to be kept secret) and then lay out the first pattern on their desk with the cards they have been given. Place one blank sheet of paper numbered 1-3 next to the pattern.
When all teams have formed their first pattern with cards, tell them it is time to rotate and solve patterns. Teams move in a clockwise pattern on your signal (you may want to set a timer for each rotation). Each team attempts to solve the first pattern from the three other teams. Teams solve the pattern and write down the next three numbers to the pattern on the answer sheet, signing their team name to the answer. Teams fold the paper backward on the horizontal plane to conceal their answers for the next rotation.
When all teams have been rotated for round one, the teacher asks a team for their pattern, writes it down on the board, and asks if any of the other teams were able to solve the pattern. (The teacher may ask the team to come up and write this themselves as well as discuss their pattern and name the teams that were able to solve it. You may also want to have a tally chart on the board where teams are given points for solving the pattern).
Continue this pattern for rounds two and three (with a clean sheet of paper numbered 1-3 at each team’s desk for each round).
After all rounds are completed, discuss the patterns—What was the easiest pattern to solve? What was the most difficult? Can anyone think of a pattern that wasn’t used? What would the eleventh number be if we extended this pattern? Can we move backward on this pattern? What would the numbers be?
Possible Pattern Ideas:
Arithmetic Sequences: Create sequences with a common difference.
Example: 0, 2, 4, 6, ..., 20 (increment of 2)
Geometric Sequences: Use a common ratio to generate sequences.
Example: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 (each number is doubled)
Fibonacci Sequence: Start with 0 and 1, and each subsequent number is the sum of the two preceding ones.
Example: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 (stops before exceeding 20)
Square Numbers: Use perfect squares.
Example: 0, 1, 4, 9, 16 (0², 1², 2², 3², 4²)
Prime Numbers: Identify the prime numbers within the range.
Example: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19
Even and Odd Patterns: Separate the numbers into even and odd.
Even: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20
Odd: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19
Counting Patterns: Simple counting or skip counting.
Example: Count by 3s: 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18
Skip Patterns: Skip certain numbers in a sequence.
Example: 0, 5, 10, 15 (skip counting by 5s)
Multiples: List multiples of a number.
Example: Multiples of 4: 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20
Custom Patterns: Create your own rules for a sequence.
Example: Add 1, then 2, then 3, etc.: 0, 1, 3, 6, 10, 15 (triangular numbers)
