About this game

The longest strip

The longest strip: a free Kindergarten math game for ages 5-6. Each round draws 5 questions; instructions are read aloud and every answer is checked and explained.

How it plays and why it helps

Children lining up straws or crayons by size already know this game. The longest strip, for Kindergarten, shows four colored strips that all start from the same line, and your child taps the longest. Some cards make it easy, with strips of 6, 4, 3 and 2 squares. Others set 9 beside 8. The instruction is read aloud, five cards make a round, and every answer is checked and explained: the longest one goes past all the others.

Comparing lengths needs a common start; then only the ends matter. Every card lines the strips up on the left for that reason. With four strips at once, your child must keep comparing until one end beats every other end, which is ordering in its first form.

The close calls are where taps go wrong: an 8 beside a 9, a 6 beside a 7. Colors shout louder than ends do. Run a finger down the right edge and ask, "Which end sticks out farthest?" Then praise the patience: "You looked at every end before choosing."

Aligned with

  • K.MD.A.1 Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object.
  • K.MD.A.2 Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of"/"less of" the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/shorter.

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