Keeping Math Engaging in Your Classroom by Sarah Strongosky

I don’t want to do math! I’m not good at math! Math is my least favorite subject! Why do I have to learn this? Do any of these sound familiar to you? As a second grade math teacher I hear these lines daily. Students start deciding if they are “good” at math long before they ever get to me, but around second grade it starts to become  a chore to some students. Making math exciting and interactive for students can be a challenge, especially when you are trying to keep a student who just wants to give up engaged. Here are some things I have found that keep all students engaged and make learning fun for everyone!

• Enter Osmo! Osmo games for kids are one of the best ways I’ve found to keep students engaged. They are fun, differentiated and students don’t even realize they are learning! Osmo Math Wizard (like the new Math Wizard and the Fantastic Food Truck), Osmo Pizza Co., and Osmo Numbers games for kids we use most to start the year.
• Gamification- There are so many ways to gamify your lessons for students. My students absolutely love playing games and due to this they have learned entire units through gamification.
• Math Centers-Math Centers have been around forever but keeping them exciting is key. I let my students take the lead and tell me things they think are fun and find ways to incorporate them into centers.

There are so many more ways to keep students engaged and it is harder now than ever to compete with everything else going on in students’ worlds. My best advice is take your cues from your students, take what they love and run with it! Most of all though, do what works best for you and your students!