How many of us have heard students say 'I hate math' or 'math isn't fun'.
As math teachers we are all seeking fun and engaging ways for students to access the material and see math as the fun, relevant, and intriguing subject that it is.
I have found that one of the best ways to do this is to up student engagement right off the bat in class. A great warm up activity can go a long way in getting students brains warmed up and ready for the days lesson. It can also help students improve their problem solving skills, confidence, and overall knowledge of math.
Here are some of my favourite warm up activities:
Puzzles
Puzzles are a great way to intrigue students and get them 'hooked' to the days activities.
Rebus Puzzles- I had a professor in University who started every class with these and they are a great warm up that is accessible to almost every student, including students in younger grades. In rebus puzzles, students solve picture representations of common names, words, or phrases. You can find many of these online!
Set Puzzle
In this game students examine cards that have shapes with 4 attributes: shape, colour, number, and fill. They create sets of 3 that have attributes that are either all the same or all different.
I have used this with students as young as grade 3. It requires some
initial teaching but I find that students catch on quickly, and after a while all students in the class are participating.
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle
Printable Puzzles
Printable puzzles are also fun. Puzzles such as kakuro, battleship, and sudoku present a new challenge for students. Prior teaching is required, but once this is done it is easy to print a puzzle and have students work on it for the first 10 minutes of class. Furthermore, it is extra work for students who are done their work early.
KrazyDad is a great resource with thousands of printable puzzles:
https://krazydad.com/
Quick Riddles or Puzzles
Short on time? Find a quick riddle or puzzle to use.
Problems
Another great way to start a class is with a more traditional math problem.
Problem Solving is a skill that many students struggle with and needs to be developed. Why not use the beginning of class as a way to do this.
Here are some tips that I find useful:
- connect problems to what they are learning
- teach students how to solve problems (check out my YouTube channel for help with this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8wpaXHq0KI&t=311s)
-use open ended problems
-give students choice
-teach collaboration. Have students work in pairs to solve a problem.
Here are some resources to get started:
Math Videos
I think that if you put anything in video form, students would be engaged.
That being said, I liked to often start math classes off with a short video. I even dubbed Monday's as 'Math Video Mondays' and students were always excited for this.
Hot Tip: Download and create your own file of videos. This way you don't have to worry about ads and you have them to reuse easily.
Here are some of my favourites!
Math History
Euclid...Fermat...Archimedes.....Math has an intriguing history behind it. I had another professor in University who did 'Math History Fridays'. I stole this idea and use it to give students a glimpse into the history of the math they are learning. I always found that students were very engaged in this.
Here is a link to my History of Math slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1e2D51Z5dZJNE_-AVbVO-FQ5HwFmjv4nd/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111768899783333434224&rtpof=true&sd=true
I hope these are helpful!
What warm up activities do you find work well? Comment below!
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