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Meaningful Activities for Math Classes

To some students, math can seem like an endless stream of flash cards, worksheets and drills -- boring stuff. Though everyone eventually needs to learn the basics, part of the beauty of math is its practical applications. When students engage with mathematical concepts in a more meaningful way, they'll not only learn what they need to, they'll have fun doing it.
  1. Money

    • Few people go through a day without spending any money at all. Teaching kids math through money is not only practical, it's interesting to them because they can easily see the value in learning it. Counting nickles, dimes and quarters teaches skip-counting techniques. Finding the sum of coins teaches addition and figuring out how much money is left over after a purchase teaches subtraction. Try setting up a pretend store and give students some coins. Students can take turns roleplaying shoppers and shopkeeper.

    Cooking

    • Many children struggle with the concept of fractions, but getting to work the kitchen rather than the classroom can improve understanding. Allow students to experiment with the measuring cups, perhaps using a sandbox or another type of sensory bin. For example, he might note that two half-cups of something will give him the same amount as a one-cup container. Have students follow a recipe in small groups or send a recipe home as a homework assignment to do with the parents. When he's ready, try giving him a recipe that you need to either double or halve and see if he can make the calculations.

    Graphs and Charts

    • Graphs and charts help people make sense of the world and children will encounter them frequently throughout their lives. Your students can find many things they can chart around the classroom, from the number of items she can find in each shape to the favorite foods of friends and family to the number of pencils in classmates' pencil cases. Let students come up with their own experiments and have them make a guess as to what the results will be. Follow through in creating the graph to see if they are correct.

    Word Problems

    • When it comes to learning the basic math facts, word problems put some meaning behind the numbers. For example, a student could figure the percentage of people invited to a party based on the RSVPs, the number of bananas he'll need to buy if everyone in the family wants to eat two a day for a week or how many weeks his allowance will afford him to buy a new bike. Make it fun, using examples that have some meaning to him.

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