Although many students dread math class, or find it boring, it is important for teachers to do whatever they can to make math class fun. Students who enjoy math class perform better on standardized tests. It is therefore important for teachers to do all they can to help students have fun while learning math.
Teacher Energy Creates the Learning Environment
If a teacher does not enjoy a subject, the students will not enjoy learning in that class either. The more positive energy a teacher has about a subject, the more enjoyable the class will be. A teacher who dislikes math may have a lower energy level than the teacher who enjoys math, and assign more seat-work. The more energy the teacher puts into planning and teaching, the more enjoyable the lessons will become, as students are getting out of their seats more.
Lesson Planning Tips for Making Math Class Fun
When planning for math class, it is important to come up with creative, interactive math lessons that involve the students in the learning process. Whenever possible, plan an activity that will get students up and moving about the classroom. Here are some tips for math planning:
- Focus on only one math skill at a time to ensure in-depth learning
- Anticipate the need to provide additional help for students who have difficulties learning
- Over-plan activities to ensure that students who are advanced have something fun to do
- Plan games whenever possible
- Plan group work to allow advanced students to assist slower learners
- Plan lessons that sound like they would be fun to teach
Fun Activities for Math Class
The more enjoyable the lesson, the more focused the students will be. Here are some fun games and other activities to use in math class:
Games to Play in Math: A popular game that students always enjoy, is Around the World. This is an easy game to play for a number of different math topics as well, including multiplication and division. With a little bit of effort, teachers can also put together a Jeopardy game, which will be sure to thrill students even as it reinforces their knowledge.
Activities for Math Class: Making math class fun can be as simple as incorporating food into lessons. Students always love it when they can use food to learn math, whether it is graphing M&M's or learning about fractions with various flavors of pie. Use cereal, whipped cream, marshmallows and any other food item that you can to spice up your math lessons.
Other activities that students enjoy include anything that gets them out of their seats and moving around the room. Divide students into different groups and graph the number of students with glasses, long hair, etc. Pair students up and have them measure each other for lessons on non-standard units of measurement.
Remember that to have students enjoy math, the teacher must enjoy planning and teaching the lesson as well. Having high energy while teaching, and incorporating games and other fun activities will help students look forward to math class.
Learn more ideas on how to teach math.
Jennifer Wagaman - Jennifer is a mother of 2 and has both public, private and administrative experience in the education field.
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