Using Theater Games to Support Students’ Math Skills

Imagine a classroom where students understand math through physical play: They learn to skip count by literally skipping. They can recall different triangle shapes because they made “sculptures” of them with their bodies. Or they learn ways to make 10 by creating an adding “machine” using gestures and sound. Physical games, used by drama educators and reimagined for your classroom’s curriculum, can go a long way toward supporting students’ math skills.

In the theory of embodied cognition, sensory and motor skills are understood as inextricably linked with mental processes. Research has shown that movement games and the use of one’s body can increase mathematical learning. Furthermore, by intentionally bringing games into the classroom, you make learning playful and creative while still reinforcing the concepts you want to teach. This allows space for different ways of learning, creating a strong classroom culture founded on joy and belonging. Finally, while these games center math concepts, they have the added benefit of supporting executive function skills like working memory, turn-taking, and flexible thinking.

5 Theater Games to Reinforce Math Concepts

1. Three Noses: Three Noses is a physical icebreaker that feels like an elevated version of freeze dance or musical chairs, and it can be used to foster numerical comprehension. Students mill about the room and the teacher calls out a number (“Three!”) and a body part (“Noses!”). Students must then group themselves accordingly. To support your math curriculum, pause between rounds and spotlight groups’ different ways of getting to the same number. Here’s an example: 

Music plays as the kids are moving. The music stops, and the students freeze.

Teacher: 27 fingers!

All students split up, finding groupings in under 30 seconds where they can show 27 fingers. Once all the groups are made, the round is over.

Teacher: I’m going to spotlight this group of six students. How did you all get to 27?

Student: We knew that five of us could put five fingers to get to 25, and then we needed one more person to put in just two fingers. 

Teacher: Wonderful! Knowing how to count by fives helped this group get to 27.

Tips for Inclusive Playing 

• Play a song that will get students on their feet and dancing before you call out the number and body part. 
• You can also name a way to move (sneak, jump, twirl, etc) in each round. Use a rhythmic pattern or sing the verbs to a familiar tune like the ABCs.
• Anytime someone doesn’t make it into a grouping, they can jump right back in during the next round. The point of the game is not elimination, but swiftly finding groups with the correct number. 
• End with the number of students you have so everyone is together for the final round; for example, “32 chins!”

2. Math Machine: In the theater game Machine, students work in small groups, each repeating a unique sound and gesture and building onto each other’s movements like the cogs of a machine. The name of the game informs what the machine does, like “sandwich-making machine” or “dog-walking machine.” Here’s an example of how to use this game for math.

A group of five students has to make a machine called “adding-to-10 machine.” One student starts with a number—for example, three—creating a gesture and showing their fingers in a three as they say it. They repeat the gesture and the number. Another student joins the machine saying “plus!,” adding on a gesture while they say the word. The next student says “seven!” because they know that in order to get to ten that’s the number they have to be. They add on their own unique movement. The next student says “equals!” and the last student says “ten.” The students collaborate on the number sentence ahead of time, reinforcing their addition skills for how to make 10.

The machine can be conducted to speed up, slow down, or even comically break (and then get fixed) but the numbers always have to be said in sequence. In this example, multiple groups can go at once, making 10 in a variety of ways and then sharing their machines with the class. 

3. Mathematical Sculptures: In the game Sculptures, students create shapes with their bodies, reinforcing and remembering concepts by making them physically. Start by brainstorming geometry vocabulary as a class, and then turn that into creative, funny titles like “the sad triangle” or “cat in a cube.” Students then move into small groups with one person starting as the “artist” and the others as the “clay.” Inspired by the title, the artist creates a sculpture by gently guiding the students into the desired shape.

Elevate this game by creating the improvisational structure of a museum. This guided play can inspire even more focus and learning. Students can go on a gallery walk and discuss what the art makes them feel. The sculptors can give a talk and discuss why their sculpture represents the title so well.

4. I Have a Gift For You: While this game is typically a get-to-know-you exercise that builds social and emotional skills, it can also be used to help students with mental math. In this case, the gift giver shares an expression that the receiver solves. These “gifts” get passed around the circle with each student solving the expression they are presented with and then offering a new one to their neighbor.

For example: 

Joaquin: Nathaniel, I have a gift for you, it is 3+9. 

Nathaniel: Thank you, 12. Jenna, I have a gift for you, it is 9+6. 

Jenna: Thank you, 15. Michael, I have a gift for you, it is 2+10.

Michael: Thank you 12. Simone, I have a gift for you, it is 4+8. 

You can set parameters that make sense for your learning goals. Decide ahead of time about the highest number students can use (up to 12, for example), the kinds of expressions you want to practice (multiplication), and the amount of time you give students to solve a problem (30 seconds). 

5. Changing of the (Number) Guard: In this game, students make a circle with one student in the center. Everyone gets a consecutive number. (You can write those numbers on the ground to start, if needed.) The student in the center calls out two numbers, and the players whose numbers are called must change places with each other. Meanwhile, the center player tries to move into one of the open spots during the change. The player left without a spot to go to becomes the center caller. This is a helpful way for early learners to build their counting skills—every time they land in a new spot, they have to count from the first spot to know what their number is.

These games are flexible, and teachers should feel free to use them simply as a blueprint that may be modified to fit the needs of their students, who can experience mastery and play when these exercises are integrated into the curriculum.