High, Low: A No-Prep Math Game (That Doesn’t Feel Like Math)

High, Low is a simple, no-prep math game that can be played in less than five minutes all while boosting number sense! Better yet, your students won’t even realize there is math involved!

How To Play the High, Low Math Game

1. Create a table on the board. Write “too low” on one side and “too high” on the other side. 

2.  Choose a number (without telling anyone what it is) and write it on a piece of paper so you don’t forget!

3. Have students raise their hands to guess a number. If the number is lower than the number you wrote down, write it on the “too low” side. If it is too high, write it on the “too high” side.

4. Students continue guessing numbers until the target number is guessed.

 

Students will begin to realize that there is strategy involved. For example, if we know that 13 is too low, but 87 is too high, the target number has to be between 13 and 87. This is a great conversation to have. Discuss what a good guess would be. For example, if we know that 87 is too high, would 150 be a good guess?

As you play, you’ll be reinforcing concepts such as greater than, less than and number recognition.

 

When to Play This Math Game

A round of High, Low can be played in just a couple of minutes. Play it:

  • as a quick math warm up at the beginning of class to get everyone engaged
  • as a time filler any time throughout the day when you have five minutes to fill.
  • while your students eat their snack

Differentiation

This game can be so easily differentiated for any age group! For younger students, you might choose a number between 1 and 100. For older students, you might choose a number between 1 and 10,000, or even a decimal number!

If you enjoyed this simple, no-prep math game, you'll love this other one called Knock off the Clock.

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