odd one out
Materials: Dice counters in two colours.
A game for two players.
Aim: To be the player with the most
counters.
Rules: Players take turns to roll a dice
and move that many squares. If you
land on an odd number place a
counter in your opponent’s scorebox.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9
32 33 34 35 36 37 38
10
31
39
11
30
9
50 Finish
40
12
29
9
49
41
13
28
9
48
42
14
27
47 46 45 44 43
15
26
16
25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17
Start
Scorebox: Player 1
Scorebox: Player 2
© PAUL SWAN
www.drpaulswan.com.au
odd one out
Australian Curriculum Links
Typically students explore odd and even numbers in Year 3 and 4. Prior to this they need to recognise odd
and even numbers. This game is designed to help students recognise odd and even numbers.
Specific links are:
Yr 3: (ACMNA051). Investigate the conditions required for a number to be odd or even and identify odd
and even numbers.
Yr 4: (ACMNA071). Investigate and use the properties of odd and even numbers.
Teachers’ notes
An even number is any whole number that is divisible by two without leaving a remainder. This explains
why 0 is an even number. Odd numbers are whole numbers that are not divisible by two without leaving a
remainder, eg 1,3, 5, 7, 9 ...
When students fill a ten frame using a pair-wise system then the distinction between odd and even
numbers becomes clear. Odd numbers literally have a ‘bit sticking out’ as one one child told me. This is
because one dimension is two units wide.
Later, students may explore why adding two odd numbers results in an even number. When adding 5 and
7, students can see that by rotating the image and sliding them together there is ‘no bit sticking out’.