Playing "go fish" with Equivalent fraction cards

Do your middle school math students like playing math games as much as my 6th-graders do?? If so, they might like playing "Go Fish" to help practice identifying equivalent fractions. This is a great game for 5th grade math as well, and the cards are handy for other activities, like fraction war!)

Playing Go Fish
The cards used for this math game are sets of equivalent fractions,  so when they play, your math students need to determine whether they have the fraction that's equivalent to the fraction students are "fishing" for. For example, if a student asks for a particular fraction, like 4/6, the other students have to determine whether any of their cards are equivalent to 4/6. 

Game Instructions:
  1. Students play in groups of 3 or 4.
  2. Each student is dealt 5 - 7 cards, and the rest of the deck is placed face down.
  3. Player asks another player for a fraction that's equivalent to one in their own hand.  If the other player has an equivalent fraction, they give it to the 'asker' and the 'asker' goes again. If they do not, the 'asker' must choose from the pile, and a new player gets to 'go fish.'
  4. Once a player has 4 equivalent fraction cards in their hand, they put them down on the playing surface.
  5. Play continues until all cards have been used. The winner is the player with the most sets of equivalent fractions.

Notes From Playing the Game in My Math Class
When we played the other day, the students had a great time and did a really good job. In the first class, I didn't require students to write down the lowest terms of the fractions in their hands, so it took some of them a little longer to re-reduce their fractions when another player asked for a certain fraction. These students commented that the game really made them think and that it was good when someone made a mistake, because they were able to recognize that a mistake had been made! Good thinkers!

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Click to see the cards on TPT

I required later classes reduce their fractions and record them on notebook paper (hiding their answers from the other players!), and it definitely helped them to play the game more smoothly.

​Overall, a successful game!
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What are your favorite math games?

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To Read Next

Resources to Help Teach and Practice Fraction Concepts