Hands On Activities for Learning

Hands on activities in math classes:

In class today we learned different hands on activities to incorporate into grade 10 math classes. I found this super helpful as students tend to learn much better by doing something rather than by listening to lectures. The first thing we learned was doodle notes. These give all the same information as traditional notes, but are more entertaining, and can be coloured in for those who need to do something. When I was in high school (and even now), I would have loved these ! I find I am able to listen better and focus more, while I am doodling, so I assume other students would as well. Another reason I really like these kind of notes, is because it allows students to colour code their work if they wish, in order to visualize things better. It also makes the notes seem less intimidating, and more fun to reread when it comes to test and exam time.

The second activity we tried was a game which forced us to practice our Pythagorean theorem calculations. It involved rolling the dice, and using those two numbers as two sides of the triangle, leaving us to find the third side, in order to move around the board. There were also questions that you had to answer if you landed on certain spots on the board, which involved perimeter and area. I absolutely loved this idea for multiple reasons. First, it allowed students to practice all different types of triangles, as it was all in the hands of the dice. As well, it meant the teacher didn't have to come up with numerous practice scenarios. You would also be able to change the question cards to whatever concept you felt your students needed to practice. Since it is in a game format, the students don't even realize how many practice questions they are doing. Lastly, I think this game format would be easy to change to accommodate many different math concepts, allowing you many more times to use it. All in all, this game idea really got me thinking, and wanting to try to use it in my classroom. Although it might take a bit to get organized and create the game in advance, I think it is well worth it. 

Although going through these presentations takes up a lot of time, I am really enjoying them, and find them extremely useful. I find so many people keep pushing to get teachers to do more interactive activities, yet they never actually give useful ideas, or realistic advice on how to achieve it. However, with these presentations we are gathering ideas, handouts, and lessons for all different grades, strands, and classes, that fully fit the Ontario curriculum. 

What do you guys think of these presentations? Are they useful? Can you see yourself using these activities in your classroom?

That's all for today, 

Miss Sydor