Dots and boxes

Age Group:      13-15 or 16-18 years

Level:              Medium

Duration:          3-6 hours

ICT tools:         TwinSpace, Audacity, Camstudio, Geogebra

 

 

To develop ICT and communication skills, develop pupils’ inductive and deductive thinking by providing environments rich in language, encourage thinking and support exploration.

 

Pupils play Dots-and-Boxes, a two player paper-and-pencil game. The players begin with a grid of dots (7x7 dots is the most common). The players then take turns drawing vertical or horizontal lines between two adjacent dots. Each time player makes a box, he/she puts his/her name in it or colours it. The winner is the one with the most boxes.

Teachers provide pupils with web tools or using Geogebra to allow them to play using web resources in a collaborative way. Though a traditional children's game, mathematicians recognised the true potential of this game and have achieved interesting mathematical results.

 

 

Pupils compare the results of their games and discuss the best strategies in order to win. They then discuss ideas for future project activities.

 

Teachers assist the pupils in their online discussions (forums, chats, video conferencing) and upload the final game sheets. They then encourage their pupils to discuss with their partners and support them in coming up with new ideas on their own.

 

 

To play Dots and Boxes with other people on the internet, see either:

The activity proposed above is a part of two longer project kits:

 

 

 

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