There are lots of creative ways to make math fun for your class. In fact, humor can serve as a mnemonic that leads to retention of material. Here are some creative ideas that I have used with my students.

When teaching students to multiply decimals, I often find that they forget to account for decimal place value. To help them remember to mark the decimal point, I use the decimal dance. At the chalkboard, I work out the product of the numbers. Then I simply exaggerate the motion of counting decimal places. I make a large white arc under each digit until I have accounted for the correct number of decimal places. By calling thisThe Decimal Dance, students remember to account for decimal place value after multiplying decimals. It may sound silly, but it works.

Most teachers start the school year by reviewing previously learned concepts. However, this is a time when students are most motivated to learn. Why not introduce a new topic they’ve never seen before? This technique, known as Front Loading, shows students that you intend to challenge them, and sets the tone for the year.

When introducing the concept of multiplying fractions, I use 8 brown-colored Unifix cubes to represent one chocolate bar. I offer 1/2 of the bar to a student. I ask that student to offer 1/4 of his/her piece to another student. Then I ask the class “What fraction of the original chocolate bar did the second student get?” Students quickly learn that a part of a part is a smaller part. Next, I distribute Unifix cubes to each group and have students complete multiplication exercises using both the cubes and arithmetic. They soon discover that the commutative law applies to multiplication of fractions

By: Christopher C. Timpog | T-I | Jose C. Payumo Jr, Memorial High School | Dinalupihan, Bataan