Dollar Word Math Game: Introducing Most Frequent Value Method

I had the pleasure of debuting a new game I call “Dollar Word Math Game.” First I introduced a third method of valuing the letters A-Z, called the Most Frequent Value Method. Using the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th Edition revised, 2004, we were able to determine what are the most frequently used letters in the English language. The children were spot on for the two most popular letters, E and A. I had to give them a hint as to the next letter: “a pirate’s favorite consonant”: R. Then “a pirate’s favorite vowel,”: I. 

E=26, A=25, R=24, I=23 ……. Q=1. The first challenge was for the children to find the shortest dollar word using this method. They quickly looked at the first three letters and saw E - A - R, but  calculated that it was only worth 75. Most of the children were able to see that 75 has a complement of 25 to 100 so wanted an additional A. 

E - A - R - A  unfortunately is not a word. Spending some time to rearrange the letters, the children rearranged those four letters to come up with AREA. The beauty is that AREA is an important math word and we discussed its meaning with respect to the amount of space within a boundary of a two dimensional object. We looked at the ceiling, walls, floor, our skin and other surfaces.

Then I let the children naturally ask what would the value of AREA be using the Ascending and Descending method. They figured out that AREA was worth only 25 using the Ascending and 83 using the Descending Valuation Method. Since our goal is to look for words worth 100, I asked them for the distance of these values to 100:

Most Frequent Value Method (MFVM)   100 0 from 100

Descending Value Method (DVM) 83 17 from 100

Ascending Value Method (AVM) 25 75 from 100

I called this Absolute Value from 100. The term absolute value is customarily the distance of a number from 0 but we did this from 100. For example, an absolute value from 100 of 30 would apply to a word worth 70 or 130.

The Dollar Word Math Game is designed to reward the lowest score. In the above example using the word AREA, the person that used the MFVM had the best score of 0, the person with the DVM had the second best score of 17, and the person with the AVM had the least valuable score of 75. The children are asked to be strategic in choosing words and valuation methods during this game. For instance, generally, a short word will have a value closer to 100 if valued using the MFVM but a long word would be way too high using that method.

My objectives are to reinforce their addition skills, their subtraction from 100, and adding their scores from each round. They are also exposed to different glossaries of words: Math, Sports, Animals, Cartoon Characters, and Candy. I am working on a History glossary as well. I had the older children calculate a player’s average score per round using my short division method.

Please see the Rules, Game Scoresheet, Game Worksheet, and Glossaries in the attached pdfs.

To keep everyone working regardless of their processing speed, the children were encouraged to audit the other two valuation methods while waiting for another student to finish. If students calculated different values, they would resolve this together.

The game is best played with three players, two is fine and it can even be played by just one person. If played with one person, they choose the letter, the word and and valuation method. If they are curious, they can compare their score with the other valuation methods to see who would have won. The rules are as follows:

Choosing Word and Valuation Method:

1. Player 1 chooses a letter.  [for example, choose the letter B]

2. Player 2 chooses a word from the math glossary starting with that letter [such as BISECTOR]; YOU MAY NOT CHOOSE A WORD THAT HAS BEEN USED OR VALUED BEFORE. [after you read these rules, you will know the values of the word BISECTOR, you cannot choose BISECTOR again]  

3. Player 3 chooses one of the three valuation methods. [chooses Most Frequent Method]

4. The objective is to get as close to 100 as possible; when you choose your valuation method, think strategically which method will get your word closer to 100. [95 or 108 is a great value]

5. Player 1 chooses one of the other valuation methods; Player 2 must use the remaining valuation method. [one player chooses Descending the other player must use Ascending]

6. If played with two players, they alternate choosing; with one player, that person chooses all three. [with 2 players, Player 1 chooses a letter, Player 2 chooses the word, Player 1 chooses the valuation method, Player 2 chooses one of the other methods]

7. Next round, Player 2 chooses a letter, Player 3 chooses the word, and Player 1 chooses the valuation method and keep switching each round.

Each Player Values the Word:

1. Each player values the chosen word using their valuation method on the 3-method value worksheet. [the word BISECTOR is worth 91 using Ascending, 125 using Descending, and 162 using Most Frequent]

2. You may not add a prefix or suffix. [you may not add an "s" to BISECTOR > bisectors]

3. Now, determine how far you are from 100, either over or under. This is called the absolute value or distance from 100. [Ascending is 9, Descending is 25, and Most Frequent is 62]

4. Record that amount in the Dollar Math Word Game scoresheet under your name and record the other player's differences from 100. [using the example above, the winner of that round is the Ascending Value of 91 because they are closest to 100]

5. After you finish valuing your word and record the absolute value from 100,  value the word with one of the other player's method to check their work. [if the Ascending player is finished first, start valuing BISECTOR with the Descending or Most Frequent method]

Who wins?:

1. Add up all of the absolute values or differences from 100 on your Dollar Math Word Game scoresheet from all of the rounds played.

2. Players, their parents or teacher determines the number of rounds of the game. [if dinner is in 15 minutes, try to play 2 or 3 rounds]

3. The Player with the lowest total  absolute value score wins. [and "if you had fun, you won."]