Fill the Tank Activity

Fill the Tank is a team review game in PowerPoint: teams solve a section of maths problems, check in with the teacher, then roll a die for a rule that fills or drains team tanks.
Year groups
Years 7–9 (Key Stage 3)
File type
Microsoft PowerPoint
Editable
Yes

Updated Feb 27, 2023

Topic
Fill the Tank, Maths Games
Resource types
Activities
Editable
Yes

From the author

About this resource

This is a Fill the Tank Activity.

The goal of this game for students is to have their team’s tank full at the end of class.  To fill the tank, students must work a section of problems correctly.  After they finish a section, teams will check in with the teacher.  If it’s correct, they will roll a dice to see which rule they get.  Then follow directions for that rule (students will roll again if the rule involves a dice roll). If the team’s problems are incorrect, they will need to find and fix their mistakes before they check in again.  Teams must Beware!  Other teams could drain their tank.  Only tanks that are full at the end of class win! 

Directions to Teacher

Before Game:

  • On “Fill the Tank” slide:

  • Edit the box in top centre to show the problems you want students to complete.  The vertical grey bars in the textbox group problems into sections.

  • Edit textboxes next to each rule to suit your preferences (or use the default rules). 

  • On “Game Rules” slide, edit rules to suit your preferences (or use the default rules). Show this to students before starting the game so they know how to play.

To Run the Game:

  • Put PowerPoint in presentation mode.

  • After a team finishes a section correctly, have them roll a dice to see which rule they get.  Then follow the directions for that rule (if the rule involves a dice roll, have them roll again).  To make a rule show up, click on the Rule textbox.  Click on it again to make the rule disappear.

  • Sometimes it’s advantageous for the teacher to select which Rule teams play by for a given amount of time (5-10 minutes).  To speed the game up, use Rules 6.  To catch last place teams up, use Rule 3.  To drain tanks, use Rules 2, 4, or 5.

  • To reach a full tank, the water level must rise 16 times.

  • To add water to a team’s tank, click on the inside of the tank, starting at the bottom and working your way up.  To drain the tank, click at the highest water level and work your way down.  Essentially, clicking once adds water; clicking on the same spot again drains water. 

  • Beware: once you exit presentation mode, all PowerPoint animations will be reset.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

What maths content does the game cover?

Teachers supply their own set of maths problems; the slides provide the tank board, game rules and rule cards, so the game can sit on top of any topic.

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