Math Can Be Magic

Math is one of those subjects that people seem to either love or hate. That is the class that I hear the following phrase the most: “Why do I have to do this?” Students desperately want to understand the purpose behind the stress. The answer you give to this question is so critical to their buy in. The goal is to make the learning of math feel valuable and important in their minds so that they want to learn the skills. Let’s talk about ways that we can make math magic.

This is a subject where my love for project based learning really shows. Project based learning helps students learn concepts and skills in a real world way. For example, when learning about decimals, I like to use a project that includes money skills to practice decimals in a real world way. My favorite is having the students design a food truck. It also teaches entrepreneurial skills. By giving students a real world use for the math skills they are learning, I help them understand the why of what they are learning.

Another way to help make math magic is to find fun games and activities for skills practice. When practicing graphing, for example, make the item they are graphing more fun. My fifth graders really love graphing superhero symbols and such. They even like sketching out a picture on graph paper and then creating the coordinate sheet for a classmate to graph. This gives them a sense of fun and excitement during math that a more basic activity might not generate. I also like to have a few math games that students who finish tasks early can grab and play. There are so many ideas out there, some for solo play and some for partners. This gives the students a chance to practice their skills without the stress of getting a “bad grade”.

I realize that each and every math lesson is not going to be fun. There are times when tears and frustration seem to win the day, and then your students begin to cry too! ;) In these times, your relationship with your students is so important. Help them know that you are there to help and teach. Does this mean that there are times we have to come at a lesson from a different direction? Absolutely! There are going to be times when we have to stop and ask ourselves, “How can I teach this in a way that will help my students connect with the material?” We may fail at times, and we have to pick up the pieces and try again. Just remember, if you don’t give up, you can teach your students how not to give up. Then they too can find that math is its own type of magic.