Those of us in math education often hear the phrase “real-world math” or “math in context” but the examples given in textbook resources do not match the math your students experience. When my own children were younger, I would take them on walks and we would look for math. What things could we count? Where did we find numbers? How could hone our estimation skills?
I created a slide show example during the pandemic. At the time I lived across from a greenhouse and the owner was always kind enough to let me take pictures, move the plants around to create arrays and chat through masks across the greenhouse.
As we begin another school year let’s consider how we can showcase places your students see math in the world around them. Can they bring pictures or examples into class to share? How about math around your school? Consider using these examples in class during morning meeting or as a center. What stories can be written using these examples? Here is my example to get you started: slideshow