Fun activities in the classroom help students learn. Math Libs do work well in a grade 9 academic math class. Speaking from experience, I found that students get excited, competitive and
work collaboratively when working in teams to solve a Math Lib. If posted on
the walls of the classroom, students are forced to get up and move around. By completing the Math Lib they create a funny story about their teacher.
In this activity, students will practice finding the area of
composite (irregular) figures. This includes squares, rectangles, trapezoids,
triangles, and semi-circles. Check it out!
There are many resources out there, but some math libs can be found on www.teacherpayteachers.com . There is a small fee, but considering you don't have to spend a lot of your own time creating these activities, it is worth it.
These look like a great resource for any math classroom! Anything that gets students up and actively engaged is great for learning, as it helps to get the lessons to stick. Bonus points for making the lesson more fun for the students!
ReplyDeleteThis is a keeper, gaining fluency with the vocabulary of "math" is a must and this is great tool that can be remade into other lessons as well. Keeper.
ReplyDeleteKeeping students engaged and excited to learn is an excellent way to ensure that material will resonate with students far beyond a single lesson. I like that this resource allows for students to work with multiple shapes too. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have actually never used Math Libs before. I am wondering if they are differentiated in any way because I would like to use them as a rich task.
ReplyDeleteRich tasks have a range of characteristics that together offer opportunities to meet the different needs of learners. On its own a task is not rich, it is how the task is used in the classroom that may make it rich.” (Gilderdale and Kiddle, 2014; NRICH). Furthermore, "Rich tasks allow all students to access a task and offers opportunities for engagement and real life connections that promote critical thinking and discussion" (Anderson, 2020). In the article What are Rich Tasks? by Charlie Gilderdale and Alison Kiddle, 2015, they define 13 characteristics of rich tasks. Rich tasks,
are accessible to a wide range of learners
draw learners in with an intriguing starting point or intriguing initial discoveries
offer opportunities for initial success
challenge learners to think for themselves
offer different levels of challenge (low threshold - high ceiling tasks)
allow learners to pose their own questions
allow for different methods and a variety of responses
offer opportunities to identify elegant or efficient solutions
have the potential to broaden learners' skills or deepen their mathematical understanding
encourage creativity and imaginative application of knowledge
have the potential for revealing patterns or leading to generalisations
encourage collaboration and discussion
encourage learners to develop confidence and independence
To gain a further understanding of rich tasks, I investigated part one of three YouTube videos by Dan Finkel, the founder of Math for Love. Dan Finkel is a Ph.D student that is working towards transforming how mathematics is taught and learned. He asks the question “What if we were to use mathematics to light students’ curiosity, build their understanding through productive struggle and help them own their learning?” (Finkel, 2019, 0.24-0.35).
Finkel (2019) is interested to observe what would happen if students' rewards were not simply praise or materialistic items such as candy, etc., however; if mathematical concepts could be transformed by teachers' practices to deliver mathematical material in a way that provided students to become curious.
I love that Math Libs have a funny story at the end that would make students motivated to finish their work in a timely manner.
Excited students, working collaboratively, while playfully poking fun at the teacher?! This sounds like a dream come true to me! Thank you for sharing this fun resources. MathLibs for the win!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this resource! I think this is a great way to get students up and moving physically around the room. Seems like a good engaging activity, I will for sure look into this for my grade 7/8 class.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of Math Libs before! This is a pretty cool activity to use with students. I have been able to play one word stories a lot of junior and senior learners and they love that game. It's a great idea to combine math concepts with a story game. This helps motivate students to try and complete the work AND learn how to do it.
ReplyDeleteThis activity has opportunities for groups to work together, especially if they were posted around the room. If there were some VNPS beside them, it could give each group the opportunity to work through them together.
Thanks for sharing!