Engaging Math Activities to Boost Summer Learning

Keeping students engaged in math over the summer can be a challenge, but it can also be an incredible opportunity. With the right tools and strategies, summer learning can help solidify foundational skills and build math confidence in a way that’s fun, memorable, and meaningful. For K–6 educators, finding engaging math activities that go beyond worksheets is key to helping students retain concepts and build fluency. Whether you’re teaching in a summer school setting or supporting learners year-round, interactive and hands-on approaches can make a big impact.

The Importance of Engagement in Math Achievement

Student engagement is one of the strongest predictors of academic growth, especially in math. A recent 2022 study found that emotional and behavioral engagement are especially strong contributors to math achievement—suggesting that how students feel and act in relation to math plays a critical role in their learning outcomes.

With this in mind, it’s no surprise that students thrive most when learning feels exciting, purposeful, and connected to their everyday experiences. That’s why it’s essential to move beyond drill-and-practice routines and create math experiences that feel exciting and relevant. Rather than focusing solely on review or remediation, educators can take this opportunity to explore creative ways of reinforcing skills through games, projects, and small-group collaboration. Engaging activities not only support math retention but also help build a positive math mindset—key to long-term success.

By focusing on curiosity and discovery, we can shift the narrative around summer math learning. It becomes less about “catching up” and more about “growing stronger” in foundational concepts. When students feel empowered and successful, they’re more likely to return to the classroom in the fall ready to tackle new challenges.

Using Math Games to Build Computational Fluency

Math games are a powerful way to reinforce fluency with basic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Games transform repetitive practice into an enjoyable experience—one that promotes critical thinking, strategic reasoning, and peer collaboration. They also give students multiple opportunities to apply what they’ve learned in low-stress environments.

Here are a few examples of easy-to-implement math games:

• Fact Fluency Bingo: Create Bingo cards with sums or products and call out the math facts. Students mark answers on their boards and reinforce fluency as they play.

• Math Fact War: Using a deck of cards, students flip two cards and solve an addition, subtraction, or multiplication problem. The player with the highest correct answer wins the round.
• Roll & Solve: Provide dice and have students roll to generate two- or three-digit numbers for mental math or written computation.

Help your students improve their math knowledge, skills, and abilities with ORIGO Education’s Games and Activities Book. Download a FREE copy today!

Games like these keep students actively involved while giving them the repetition they need. Plus, they’re easy to differentiate for various ability levels. Adding a time component or a point system can increase excitement, while cooperative play encourages teamwork and communication.

Hands-On Activities for Basic Operations

Hands-on math activities provide the concrete experiences younger learners need to build deep conceptual understanding. By using manipulatives, visual models, and real-world connections, students can explore math in a tactile and meaningful way.

For Addition & Subtraction:

• Count-On Strategy: Give students a set of small objects (like bouncy balls) or a number card to represent a starting quantity. Then, add more objects or a smaller number and have them count on from the larger number—an efficient strategy that builds number sense and saves time when adding. Check out this video from ORIGO for a visual!

• Number Bond Building: Use linking cubes or counters to model part-part-whole relationships.
• Math Stories: Have students write or act out short word problems based on real-life scenarios (like shopping or sharing snacks) and solve using objects or drawings.
• Ten Frame Challenges: Use ten frames with counters to help students see number combinations and improve their mental math strategies.

Check out this video of ORIGO’s Bridge-To-Ten Counting Strategy. Click HERE for the printable Bridge-to-Ten-Game pdf. For a deeper dive, this article on the Make-Ten strategy offers a great explanation of how it supports place value understanding and helps students recognize relationships between numbers. 

More Addition & Subtraction Resources from ORIGO:

• Math and Play: Fun Math Games for Young Learners
• Fun and Engaging Activities for Learning Basic Addition and Subtraction Facts

For Multiplication & Division:

• Doubling Strategy: Adding two identical numbers (e.g., 2 + 2 or 3 + 3) can help students understand multiplication. For a full breakdown (with video), check out this article from ORIGO.
• Array Builders: Provide grid paper or tiles for students to create arrays, helping them connect multiplication to area and repeated addition.
• Equal Groups Sorting: Use cups and small objects (like beans or buttons) to divide quantities into equal groups, reinforcing division concepts.

• Think-Multiplication for Division: This strategy from ORIGO uses picture cards and the close relationship between multiplication and division to help students master division. For example, by observing 30 dots on a card arranged in 5 equal rows, students use their understanding of multiplication (5 × 6 = 30) to quickly determine the related division fact: 30 ÷ 5 = 6. 

More Multiplication & Division Resources from ORIGO:

• 4 Strategies for Multiplication and Division Fluency
• Fun and Engaging Activities for Learning Basic Multiplication and Division Facts

These types of activities support mathematical thinking in a developmentally appropriate way. They also encourage communication, justification of reasoning, and collaborative problem-solving.

Support with ORIGO’s Engaging Math Resources

When it comes to boosting math skills with understanding, ORIGO Education’s resources offer a solid foundation. The Book and Box of Fact Strategies is a go-to tool for developing fact fluency in a way that emphasizes strategy over memorization. Rather than relying on rote recall, students learn how to use relationships and number sense to solve problems efficiently.

This resource includes:

• Visual models that help students see patterns and relationships
• Strategy-based practice activities (like doubles, near doubles, and making tens)
• Easy-to-follow instructional guides for teachers
• Engaging, hands-on tasks that reinforce each strategy

It’s perfect for small-group instruction or as a station during rotations. The flexibility of the program means educators can tailor it to student needs—whether introducing a new strategy or revisiting a familiar one.

Similarly, ORIGO Fundamentals offers a wide range of lesson materials focused on conceptual understanding. The content is organized by key concepts and grade levels, making it easy to plan interventions, reteach difficult skills, or enrich learning for advanced students. Each lesson integrates visual and verbal models to make math accessible and engaging for all learners.

Engaging students in math doesn’t require elaborate materials—it’s about using meaningful, strategy-based activities that spark curiosity and build confidence. ORIGO’s resources make math enjoyable and accessible, helping students develop true understanding rather than just memorization. By incorporating games, hands-on experiences, and visual models, educators can create a strong foundation that supports fluency and fosters a lasting love of math all year long.

Planning an elementary summer math program? Check out this post with evidence-based resources on how to make your summer math program the most successful!