Polygon Race (+Virtual Play)

July 08, 2020

Grades 2 and up

Polygon Race, like Polygon Party is a fun board game that students can play to practice the polygons’ properties. It gives teachers and parents an opportunity for having discussions, clearing misconceptions, and doing an informal assessment on polygons and their properties. Now with a google slides version as well.

Material:

Print out of the game board (provided)
Spinner (pdf provided).

One face 6 dice

How to play

Goal: Be the first to finish the race.

The players take turns rolling the dice. They start from the start and move as many steps as the dice roll. Then they spin the spinner. If the polygon they have landed on has the property the spinner indicates they get to stay there and wait for their next turn. If not they need to go back to their previous position, and try again at their next turn.

The first player to reach the finish line is the winner.

How to make a spinner.

I decided to include a spinner in this game because spinners are fun. You can easily make a spinner at home. Cut and paste the template given on a piece of card stock or cardboard or even a paper plate. To make the spinner you can use a paper clip, a popsicle stick, or a piece of cardboard (shaped like an arrow) attached with a brad (paper fastener) and a washer, or a push pin in the middle. You can also by a plastic spinner, or use a digital one.

Here is a video of how you can make a spinner with a wire , or a paper clip

Instead of a spinner

Instead of using a spinner you can make your own cards with construction paper. Write a property in each card and keep them face down for the players to pick each time. You can use UNO cards and assign a property to each number or assign a property to a dice roll. Roll a ten face dice. 1 indicates a right angle, 2 indicated 2 qual sides, and so on. Make a list and keep it in the middle so that the players can see and play accordingly.

Here is a list of the properties and the polygons to help you make your cards or assign them to the dice roll. (pdf to download at the end) The students can use it as a cheat sheet as well.