For decades there has been a common trend of many students not liking Math for various reasons. Some students don’t like it because they don’t understand concepts and find it difficult while other students don’t enjoy math because they find it repetitive and boring.
As a new teacher, I want to change this trend by not only changing instruction so that students can understand various concepts being taught but to also change instruction so that students LOVE math and have fun while learning.
From my past experience, I have found that most classes love competition. Therefore incorporating games into math instruction where students can compete against each other is one way to get them excited about math. These math games can be as simple as using math activities from IXL Learning https://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-7 where there are multiple exercises that follow the curriculum for all grades. When using these activities you could split your class into groups and have students compete against each other to solve the questions.
I also like incorporating math into other subjects that students enjoy-sometimes that might not even realize they are using their math skills as well! For example, including geometry into an art project where students have to create a figure with a certain area and perimeter. Or incorporating math into physical education where students have to complete an ‘Amazing Race’ using their physical abilities as well as their mental skills to complete certain tasks. There are many ways you can incorporate math into other subjects, making fun and cross-curricular activities.
These are few of many ideas that I would like to apply to my teachings someday as a classroom teacher, follow this blog for more to come!
Thanks for all the ideas! I absolutely agree with cross-curricular learning. I am a music teacher as well, so what better way to make students do math than to read rhythms?
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to hear about your thoughts on this. I've never been huge on the idea of using competition as a way to motivate students, because I think competition enhances math anxiety. Have you noticed any enhanced math anxiety as a result of activities with competition?
Having a math competition is a great activity that can engage students in the math classroom. This would stimulate students interest and motivate them to answer the math questions from the competition. And, having students into groups for the competition could be an effective way to build up their teamwork skills.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I want to thank you for sharing the IXL website. The questions there are not hard questions. I believe most students can answer them in a short time. By answering these questions correctly, students could gain quite a lot of confidence. I really like this idea, because it benefits students in different areas (i.e. confidence, teamwork, interest, participation etc) in a fun way.
Having a math competition is a great activity that can engage students in the math classroom. This would stimulate students interest and motivate them to answer the math questions from the competition. And, having students into groups for the competition could be an effective way to build up their teamwork skills.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I want to thank you for sharing the IXL website. The questions there are not hard questions. I believe most students can answer them in a short time. By answering these questions correctly, students could gain quite a lot of confidence. I really like this idea, because it benefits students in different areas (i.e. confidence, teamwork, interest, participation etc) in a fun way.