For many students and teachers alike, the subject of Math proves to be difficult and frustrating. Well, I am here to say that sometimes, incorporating the fine arts into Math (especially in primary) can make it more fun and simpler to understand for students and teachers alike. I enjoy mathematics (I'm a little strange, everyone knows it haha), however when it came to teaching Math to the younger students, I struggled in explaining what to me appears to be such simple concepts. You all know the feeling of teaching what appears to be a simple concept, and the students look at you like you are speaking a foreign language, and you just want to yell "How can you not get this! It's so simple!" OK perhaps not yell, but you get the point. So I pondered of strategies I could use to make a concept more basic, more fun, and much more active. So why not incorporate fine arts? We always discuss how fine arts can be used to discuss important topics and used cross-curricularly, so why not in Math? Specifically for me, I chose to use a song to teach students the concept of taking away one. I found a fantastic version of '5 little monkeys jumping on the bed' and the students loved it. We all danced to the song, used an activity where they got to act out the monkeys falling off the bed (drama incorporated!) all while learning the concept of taking away 1! I enjoyed myself, and so did the kids, so lesson in my mind successful.
P.S. Sadly I could not attach my song I used (alternate version of monkeys) because I got it off of itunes, but you can still use any version of the song.
image source: www.youtube.com
Haha awesome! That is so great and I wish I thought about doing something like that. Math scares the bageezes out of me because I do not understand it so when I teach it I find it difficult to get creative. I can get creative with things I know because I can see lots of ways of representing something, with math I don't see that, I am very narrow minded in math. It is unfortunate I know! It's something I have to work on. This post has inspired me to attempt to bring art into my math to make it more fun and meaningful for myself and my students.
ReplyDeleteI love the 5 Little Monkey song, I was lucky enough to listen to it one day with you :) Incorporating any kind of song in the primary grades is soooo effective! I cannot sing at all, or dance for that matter, but kids don't care! They have fun, dance and sing with you no matter what!
ReplyDeleteI am excited when I see joy on the face of an elementary teacher when Math is mentioned - children deserve to have exposure to these special people, in order to see that it is possible for them, too! I think the reason so many of us are afraid of or avoid Math in adulthood is that we did not have capable Math teachers in our early years - so how can that cycle be broken? For one, work hard at ongoing professional learning to improve your Math teaching from year to year - it will be easier to figure out what you need to learn once you see what kids have trouble with. If you are lucky enough to work with someone like Emma, follow her around and watch what she does! Invite her to team teach with you or ask her to share resources or strategies. If Math improvement is a school goal that everyone is working on, dive right in! And yes, even look for ways to integrate the arts. The little monkey song is a great start. Thanks, Emma.
ReplyDeleteGreat Idea Emma! Thanks for sharing!
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