Make two lines of students divided however you please, this could be young against old, girls against boys or simply those sitting on the right against those sitting on the left.

The two students standing at the front of lines must listen to an arithmetic equation you come up with and quickly answer it before the opposing student can. If they answer correctly then they can sit down at their desk or wait at the side of the classroom, if they guess incorrectly or are beaten to the correct answer by the opposing student then they have to return to the back of their team’s line and wait for another turn.

Continue the game until one of the teams manages to finish their line with everyone having correctly answered a question. To make the activity run smoothly remind students who are not at the front of the line to remain quiet.

If it goes well you might want to play more than one round, giving students a chance to improve and gain some revenge on the opposing team. You can also introduce a points system where the winning team receives a number of points equal to the number of students remaining in the opposing team’s line.

Use arithmetic questions that suit the level of your class, whether it is simple addition and subtraction or tricky multiplication and division.

For example:

Easy

2 + 4 = 6
3 + 5 = 8
4 - 1 = 3
9 - 7 = 2

Medium

8 + 7 = 15
14 - 5 = 9
2 x 5 = 10
6 ÷ 3 = 2

Hard

16 +27 = 43
35 - 18 = 17
8 x 9 = 72
56 ÷ 7 = 8

Good luck and have fun!