• Education of Primary School Mathematics
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.39-55
• /
• 2009

For this study, the 'Game Activities' lessons presented in the math textbooks from the 1st grade to the 6th were examined in terms of learning materials, the learning members' make-up, the playing structures, and the relation with the contents. In addition, the survey by means of questionnaires was conducted to analyze the actual condition of teachers' guidance in the field. The findings from this research were as follows: First, as for the activities presented in the textbooks, it turned out that too much emphasis is placed upon plays mainly using learning materials such as cards and dice played by teams of two. In addition, there have been shown negative aspects in various ways of plays putting too much emphasis on certain types of plays such as and structures. As for the relation with the contents, although lots of efforts were taken to connect the playing activity to the lesson contents, there were units presenting plays based on the preceding lesson's repeated activity, ones that have weak link with the contents. Second, it turned out that the teachers had negative attitude on the guidance using the 'Game Activities' lesson, although they were aware of the effects of playing in math learning. This seemed to result from the delicate variety and insufficient preparation for the play. Besides, the findings indicate that the appreciation and activity of the 'Game Activities' lesson presented as a way of performance evaluation. for play need to be provided in school or classrooms for teachers and students to make good use of them.