Math JENGA as a Review Game

I have been using Math JENGA as a fun, competitive and engaging center activity since my first year teaching in 2011. I was organizing my personal game closet and thought about how much fun I had as a child with the tumbling tower!  It was in that instance, that I thought of my struggling students and how to connect solving math problems with a fun way of overcoming the challenges. My very first set, I didn’t really know what I was doing and I used a sharpie pen to write directly on the squares simple math facts to check for fluency. It looked awful <rofl> because the marker had bled through the wood grain so a 3 looked very much like an 8. But, I learned from that mistake and measured out the prisms to find the perfect size.  

My first set of Math JENGA was Order of Operations (PEMDAS):

I didn’t want to stop there since my students kept asking for more! So, I visited my local Goodwill and Thrift stores for more JENGA games.  Of course, some were missing pieces but that didn’t really matter to me because I was saving big money on the game that usually sells for $15 brand new.  I had finished off with a few sets that I could use throughout the year and just re-arrange the problems with the concept being covered.  I felt like my students really supported the game and learned a great deal in simple math fluency. This led me to create additional games that I knew would be a hit in class. Students were excited to see that Math JENGA was on our center rotations and how much they worked to solve the problems really warmed my heart! I had found a game that reached across the board for ALL my learners!  Let’s be honest though, the students really didn’t want to lose or make the tower fall! 

The beauty of this game is that it is also self-correcting. Students solve the problem and another person checks their solution. Correct solutions get a point rewarded and the person with the most correct solutions ultimately wins the Math JENGA game! Students show their work on the workspace document provided with a checking system in the right top corner.  I only require students to solve 9 problems total but if the game continues the back provides plenty of additional space to continue solving problems.  I know this was probably one of my kids favorite things to do in class. I even gifted my original (hand written) games to a few lucky students at the end of the year!  

Since 2011, I have created an entire line of Math JENGA Games that you can purchase to practice in your own classroom or as a Bundle that you may be interested in since it will save you money: 

Math JENGA – Growing Bundle

The bundle now includes 16 sets of my Math JENGA Games which are all available to purchase individually to try out.  If you want to step-up to the Bundle, you can just message me through TpT that your interested.  

I have received powerful feedback from customers who have purchased the individual sets:

These Math JENGA Games make for a perfect review of covered concepts because students practice with purpose! It is a beautiful thing to watch as a teacher, that your activities keep middle school kids engaged and actively on task!  You will no doubt be pleasantly surprised about the progress made with positive conversations occurring while in their small groups.  Students ask each other questions, self-correct each other and creates a classroom community where they all feel empowered!

–Combining Like Terms

–Expressions

–Inequalities

–Operations of Fractions

–Scientific Notation

–Percentages

–Proportions

–One Step Equations

–Two Step Equations

–Multi Step Equations

–Area of Triangles and Quadrilaterals

–Area and Circumference of Circles

–Measures of Central Tendency

–Rates and Unit Rates

–Integers