Materials
T I C ■ 9 Chairs
T A C
T T HO E
MA
GAME
The Tic-Tac-Toe Math Game is a fun and interactive
way to review for an upcoming exam or practice a new
math skill! It also fosters social-emotional learning in the
classroom through cooperation and teamwork. With this
simple math game, students will physically become the
X’s and O’s and work together as a team to get three in
a row on a Tic-Tac-Toe game board made up of chairs!
In order to place themselves on the game board, each
student will have to correctly answer a math question.
Objective/Student Expectation
Students will work as a team to answer math questions
and strategically “place” themselves on the Tic-Tac-Toe
game board to get three in a row.
Directions
1. Explain to students that the object of the Tic-
Tac-Toe Math Game is to get three X’s or O’s in a
row. Playing on a game board made up of chairs,
players will answer a math question in order to
place themselves on the game board as either an
X or an O. The objective is to get three teammates
sitting in a row before the opponent gets three in
a row or all nine chairs are filled in.
2. Create two teams of 5 students for a total of 10
players. Have each player pin a team badge to his
or her shirt. (the rest of the class is the audience
OR if your class is big enough two games can be
going on simultaneously).
3. The teacher will act as the Tic-Tac-Toe emcee. If
you have two games being played simultaneously,
pick a student to be the emcee for the second
game.
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■ White Board and Marker
(as needed)
■ Timer
■ Index Cards
■ X’s and O’s Team Badges
Preparation
Print and cut out team badges (see below). One team will
wear X badges and one team will wear O badges.
Write at least 20 index cards with math questions based
on a topic(s) your students are currently learning or a
topic that students may need to review. This game is also
great for students to practice their math fluency facts.
Set up 9 chairs (C) as a three-by-three Tic-Tac-Toe game
board as shown here.
C C C
C C C
C C C
Create two teams of 5 students each for a total of 10
students (the rest of the class is the audience OR if
your class is big enough two games can be going on
simultaneously)
is a registered trademark of William H. Sadlier, Inc.  Copyright ©2015 by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.   May be reproduced for education use (not commercial use)
4. Have each team line up on opposites sides of the
chair “game board” and then flip a coin to see
which team will go first.
5. To start the game, the Tic-Tac-Toe emcee will
ask the first player on the starting team a math
question on an index card. Give the student a
designated amount of time to answer the question
based on difficulty. If the player answers correctly,
he or she will strategically sit in an empty chair on
the game board. If the player answers incorrectly,
he or she moves to the back of the line and play
resumes with the opposing team.
Note: If a player needs help working out the
math problem, he/she can use a white board and
marker OR ask teammates for help.
6. Play continues until a team gets Tic-Tac-Toe (three
in a row) or the game ends in a draw. If the game
ends in a draw, a new game begins.
 www.SadlierSchool.com 
• 
Toll Free 800-221-5175
X
X X
X X

Sadlier School
is a registered trademark of William H. Sadlier, Inc.  Copyright ©2015 by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.   May be reproduced for education use (not commercial use)
 www.SadlierSchool.com 
• 
Toll Free 800-221-5175
0
0 0
0 0

Sadlier School
is a registered trademark of William H. Sadlier, Inc.  Copyright ©2015 by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.   May be reproduced for education use (not commercial use)