Making Math Relevant
Simply providing a context to mathematics does not ensure that students will find the task relevant or engaging. Students can be drawn to a problem because it relates to their lives in a real way, or there may be something interesting about a task that intrigues them and challenges them to think deeply. Mathematics that relate to other areas the student is currently studying can also provide relevance. Sometimes it’s not a matter of what specific problem is given, but how it’s posed by the teacher that piques students’ curiosity and results in deep engagement.
Students and Parents look forward to Family Math Night every year.
Students in grades one through four celebrate mathematics, as well as continue to hone their fluency in combination facts by playing fun games. Fourth grade students create their own math games as a capstone experience, and then teach them to family and friends during Family Math Night. Continue reading
Third Graders Explore Area and Perimeter by Measuring a “Pocket Park”
As part of their study of area and perimeter, third graders in Elaine and Jessie’s class measured the perimeter of “Little Red Square”, the small pocket park that lies just in front of LREI on Sixth Avenue. Each class divided into small groups and used trundle wheels to measure the four sides of the park. Then they calculated the perimeter by adding up the side dimensions. When the class looked at the set of data, they realized that their perimeter data varied, and they attributed this to the inexactness of using the trundle wheel. They decided to use the middle number of the data set (the median) as their “working” perimeter for the park. Continue reading
How many New York City blocks is it to the Apollo Theater from LREI?
(The Apollo Theater is located at 125th Street in Harlem)
This problem seemed easy enough until Tasha’s second grade realized that the West Village, where LREI is located, isn’t laid out in an organized city grid system, like the rest of Manhattan is. An interesting math problem ensued, and the class enlisted Nick, LREI’s resident historian to help us understand why the streets in the West Village are so confusing! Continue reading
Students in first grade have been working with the equal symbol, and the greater than/less than symbol. They’ve created number stories and equations using the data they collected from counting the number of security cameras the stores in the neighborhood have. Some of these equations are simply true statements, and some have missing addends, or missing sums, depending on the story they created. Continue reading
The students in first grade are learning how to collect data and communicate the results of their data in a representation that makes sense to them.
Both classes spent time outside observing and recording “safe” and “unsafe” events in the neighborhood before each class decided on a topic to collect data on. Safety is also the larger topic they are learning about in social studies. Sarah’s class collected data on bicyclists and whether or not they wore helmets. Ariane’s class collected data on broken benches in the nearby parks. Continue reading
