What It Is
Design Game X is a 10-session, 15–20 hour hands-on Math Lab where students become "Design Campers" at Mega Mini Games, a fictional game company. Students play oversized physical fraction games — Line Up, Launchball, and Finish Line — then design and build their own original fraction game. The lab culminates in a Game Expo where students present and play each other's creations.
Activities use physical materials, such as oversized felt game boards, polypropylene tracks, marbles, ping pong balls, and connector straws. Game boards are durable; paper-based design materials are consumable — students keep their work.
The Story
Students are hired as Design Campers at Mega Mini Games. Over the first five sessions they learn fractions by playing structured games: building houses and towers to explore parts of a whole, playing Line Up to compare and order fractions, playing Launchball to add fractions with unlike denominators, racing on Finish Line to place fractions on a number line, and playing the mysterious Game X to put it all together.
In sessions 6–10, students flip from players to designers. They create a game world, make a plan, build their game using connector straws and craft materials, write and perform a commercial, and host a Game Expo. Each task requires students to use fraction concepts in authentic, creative ways. The curriculum is taught through a web-based slide portal at algebrastudio.org — Howie is the on-screen instructor in embedded videos. No special training is required.
Who It's For
- 4th grade teachers looking for hands-on supplemental curriculum in fractions
- 3rd and 5th grade teachers who need fraction review or enrichment
- Afterschool and summer program directors who want turnkey STEM programming
- Curriculum coordinators looking for hands-on, standards-aligned supplements that work alongside any core curriculum
What's in the Kit
- Oversized felt game boards (Line Up, Finish Line)
- Polypropylene track (Launchball)
- Marbles, ping pong balls, and dice
- Connector straws for building structures
- Game X design mats, card templates, planners
- Game World poster, jobs poster, teamwork poster
- Construction paper, glue sticks, tape
- Quick reference booklet
10 Sessions at a Glance
How It Works
Every session runs through a web-based slide portal at algebrastudio.org. Howie is the on-screen instructor in embedded video mini-lessons — he introduces each task, demonstrates the math, and guides students through the activity. No special training is required. Open the kit, follow the slides, and go.
Sessions are designed to run between 45 and 90 minutes, with some extending longer at the teacher's discretion. The curriculum works as a daily block (3–4 weeks), a twice-weekly enrichment (5–10 weeks), or an afterschool/summer program.
Sample Lesson
Standards by Session
Design Game X covers fractions as parts of a whole, comparing and ordering fractions, adding fractions, and fractions on a number line standards already in your grade 4 scope. It supplements any core curriculum and gives students a chance to apply the math you're already teaching.
| # | What Students Do | Standards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Build houses & towers — fractions as parts of a set & whole | 3.NF.A.1 |
| 2 | Play Line Up — compare & order fractions | 4.NF.A.2 |
| 3 | Play Launchball — add fractions with unlike denominators | 4.NF.B.3, 5.NF.A.1 |
| 4 | Play Finish Line — fractions on number line; multiply by whole numbers | 3.NF.A.2, 5.NF.B.4 |
| 5–9 | Design, build & test original fraction games | 3.NF–5.NF |
| 10 | Game Expo — present, play & evaluate games | 3.NF–5.NF |
Career & Workplace Connections
Each Design Game X session connects to a real-world career role that uses the same math students are learning. For every session, we provide a one-page Workplace Connection brief that introduces a professional — such as a toy product designer who uses fractions and measurement to prototype game components, or a packaging engineer who calculates material dimensions using fractional units. These briefs give CTE directors and career-readiness coordinators a concrete way to show students how fractions, measurement, and design thinking appear in careers across product development, manufacturing, and entertainment — making Design Game X a natural fit for programs that integrate academic content with career and technical education pathways.
Kit Sizes
All three sizes run the same 10-session curriculum. Teams are 4 students each.
Starter Kit
Trial size. Two teams get the full Design Game X experience.
- 2 team material packs
- Line Up, Launchball, Finish Line game boards
- Game design kits with connector straws and craft supplies
4-Team Kit
For smaller classes, intervention groups, afterschool programs.
- 4 team material packs
- Full set of oversized game boards
- Game design kits with connector straws and craft supplies
Full Kit
Full-class including materials for all 7 Design Game X teams.
- 7 team material packs
- Complete game board library
- Game design kits with connector straws and craft supplies
Cost Per Student
Starter Kit: $399 ÷ 8 students = $50 per student. 4-Team Kit: $749 ÷ 16 students = $47 per student. Full Kit: $1,195 ÷ 28 students = $43 per student. 15–20 hours of instruction. Game boards are durable — only paper-based design materials need replacing.