Patterns and Algebra
Dice Combinations
The activity in which we roll two dice multiple times until we get every possible number is useful in several ways. Firstly, helping students with addition and counting, two of the most basic skills in the numeracy strand of math. We ask them to, either alone or with help from a partner, either count the dots or add the digits. Standard, six-sided dice come in two forms: they may have dots or numbers on them. Different students will have different preferences. A good tool may be to use one of each so that they start at one number and then count from there.
An interesting feature of this game is that not all numbers are easy to get. You will likely get seven several times before getting a 12 or a 2. The numbers 2-12 are all possible, but the closer a number is to seven the more likely it is to turn up. Based on this, I have some ideas for modifications to the game. Alternate versions you could use. Perhaps, instead of one of each possible number, the winning conditions could include more of some number than others. Maybe one 12 and one 2, and two of everything else. Or maybe three 7s, two of some others, and one each of 2, 3, 11, and 12. Another alternative is, instead of the goal being a certain amount of each number, it could be point based. Whoever gets a certain number of points first wins. This way, rarer numbers like 2 and 12 could be worth more points because they are difficult to get.
While the game seems to mainly be for learning addition and counting, I believe it can also be used to teach probability and statistics. When kids are old enough to begin learning probability, you can play this game and have them take note of which numbers come up most often. You can have each student keep track of how often they get each number, tally them all up, and then use the data to teach them about how to use data to estimate the probability of a given outcome. The results will most likely approximate the odds of each outcome but be slightly off. .