Greedy Pig is one the those great relief teaching ideas that has been around longer than we have. It is based on greed, fun to play, involves fun with Math and takes minimum preparation.
A fun math game and great relief teaching idea that fits into your bag of tricks.
That pretty much makes it one the the great relief teaching ideas to fit into your bag of tricks. This is a DICE GAME. Basically each player builds their own set of points for themselves based on the roll of the dice. It is an easy math game to vary so the playing rules are as loose as you need them to be. A game consists of a set round of throws. This can be dictated by time or by number. In the relief teaching situation, we suggest about 30 minutes is long enough to play before the lesson gets messy.
Setting the Game
The players sit around a table and roll the dice. You can play with one die for the low grades and 2 or more dice for the upper grades. we suggest you roll the dice into a box to avoid the inevitability of dice ending up on the floor. All players have a score card which must be FACE UP. The player continues to play and score the roll of the dice for as long as they wish. They may also leave the game whenever they wish. If a player elects NOT to play, the SCORECARD is Face DOWN. When ANY DICE rolls a 6, the total score of every player still participating is ZERO. Those who opt out keep the total on their scorecard. There are THREE TEMPLATES in this kit. The GREEDY PIG templates can be emailed to you as a pdf file. Included are all templates for 1, 2 and 3 dice games. The older the student, the more dice in the game. Consequently, the more complicated the Math.
Playing the Greedy Pig Game
The players sit around a table. Players take turns to roll the dice, and EVERY player records the value of that throw into the Greedy Pig template. Immediately after the first throw, all players have the choice to play or not play subsequent rounds.
If a player elects NOT to play, the current total is recorded in the TOTAL BOX. They then turn the sheet face down. The amount in the TOTAL BOX is protected.
A player elects to STAY in the game.
The dice are thrown. The amount on the dice is recorded on the template and subtotaled.
However, if the player elects to play and 6 is thrown on either of the dice, all points are forfeited for that game. All players who remain in the game score ZERO.
There are many variations that make this one of the great relief teaching ideas.
Teachers can choose the variation that suits their classroom situation.
1. Lengthen the game
In traditional greedy pig, each player uses the total thrown by the player whose turn it is to throw. For a longer game, each player can throw the dice for themselves. This lengthens the game and increases the down time for players not throwing. Students who lack focus can turn into behaviour problems. A fast game is a good game.
2. Multiple dice
Greedy pig can be played with 1, 2 or 3 dice. Obviously, the more dice, the more complex the Math. The GREEDY pig knock out total for 2 dice could be 12 and for 3 dice it could be 18. In traditional greedy pig, each player uses the total thrown by the player whose turn it is to throw. For a longer game, each player can throw the dice for themselves. This lengthens the game and increases the down time for players not throwing. Students who lack focus can turn into behaviour problems. A fast game is a good game.
3. Change the knockout
The GREEDY PIG knock out total for multiple dice games could be varied to be multiples of 5 for example. Changing the knock out total also changes the complexity of the game.