Last Updated on October 13, 2022 by Editorial Team
Can math be a fun-loving subject? Most high school students whine about math being a boring and hectic subject. They face many difficulties remembering equations and formulas, which is the essence. To make math an enticing subject for high schoolers, along with traditional pedagogies, teachers should also involve them in fun math activities. In this accord, we shall look into some handpicked math activities for high schoolers that are engrossing and fun-filled.
Math activities for high schoolers- Why do they need it?
Engaging students in interactive activities may assist them in comprehending the basic notions smoothly. It helps them grasp the subject from the root, thus understanding its logic. These activities let the teachers examine students’ capability, quality of learning, and knowledge. Therefore a blend of activity and knowledge can advocate forming definitive guidance for Math activities filled with fun have several benefits; here are some crucial value additions:
- Overcoming Fear: Math activities help students to practice and talk more about their doubts. These activities allow children to work on their level and understand the subject more precisely by interacting with each other. It boosts students’ skills and helps remove their fear, and increases their self-confidence.
- Boosting Fluency: Fun and engaging activities help understand the concepts of the subject and make students fluent in remembering formulas and equations. It helps in improving their learning and memorizing power.
- Improves Communication: High schoolers engaged in math challenges and games create a social environment around them. It allows them to work together as a group and help each other. It makes math more enjoyable and improves their communication skills as well.
- Strategic Thinking: Math games and challenges give students an opportunity to think strategically and sometimes out of the box. While performing such activities, students learn about the rules and concepts of the subject but improve when they find different strategies for solving problems.
Engaging math activities for high schoolers
Be it finding an effective way to solve or quality practice, fun and creative math activities play a crucial role in learning and improving knowledge of the subject in multiple ways. Read along to find exciting ways to make math an interactive subject.
1. Initials
To start with, a sheet is given to each student that has problems aligned with a math topic. Instead of solving their sheets, students solve the questions of their classmates. A student can only complete one question per sheet, signing their initials beside the answer. This activity continues until all the questions on each sheet have been answered. Playing Initials among the high schoolers not only rejuvenates math skills but also builds trust in one another.
2. Around the Block
Make questions for a particular skill and then form all the students in a circle. Take a ball, give it to a student, and ask them to read the question from the list. Students now pass the ball in clockwise format. The student from where the circle started must answer the question before receiving the ball. Students who answer before finishing the circle will clear the round, and the next student is called upon to repeat the same. Since each student gets limited time to answer, they learn to solve math problems within the stipulated time span. Moreover, everyone gets a chance to practice academic concepts as a part of the activity.
3. One-Meter Dash
Select a few students from class, group them into a team, and give them a meter stick. This is the evaluation group of the class. Now, the rest of the students look around for 5 to 8 things each they feel can add up to a meter in length. Now they have to express the item as an algebraic equation on a whole. For instance, if they gather 2 pencils and 3 scales, they may express them as 2P+3S. The evaluation team measures all those items and compares their estimates with the final result. This activity can aid them to comprehend the concepts of measurements. This can be made more challenging by changing the units of measurement from meter to centimeter or millimeter.
4. Quiz of Jeopardy
Here the entire board is divided into rows and columns. The first row of each column has a topic and the rest of the rows have points ranging from 100 to 1000, each of these cells has pouches having questions of that difficulty level. For instance, the questions near 100 points pouch are easier compared to questions in 200 points pouch.
To start with, students are divided into two teams. One team can ask a question from any pocket while the other team needs to solve the question first and raise their hand. Once all the questions have been answered, the team with the highest point wins. This enticing activity engages students to practice their skills in math and test their knowledge.
5. Think-Pair-Share
As the name suggests, the activity starts with asking a student to think about a math topic or specific question. Now, divide the entire class into pairs and ask them to discuss their results and findings. Each pair shares their ideas with the rest of the class and opens the topic for further discussions. This game allows students to be self-engaging and challenging. It motivates teamwork and increases self-confidence.
6. Math and Jump
Blending math with physical activities can be a great idea. To start with, each student estimates how far they can jump. After the jump, the results are compared. The interesting part of this activity is that each student should give an estimate with an equation of their favorite math concept. Let us say, if the estimate is 2oo cms, the student may say “(500*40)/100 cm”. Such methods can also be applied to various activities like lifting, throwing, etc. Such a blend can improve math skills and stipulate them to be healthy via physical activities.
7. Algebra Stacks
Algebra math stacks activity by EAI Education is a perfect tool for students who love algebra in high school. It consists of 60 cards, of which 20 are starter cards and 40 are match cards. In this activity, the players draw match cards in their turns unless they find an equal starter card which they place on the match card. Once a three-card stack is made, it can be collected, and the person with the most stack card, in the end, wins the game. It is a fun game that gives a perfect environment for students to be competitive and test their skills.
8. Slice the cake
Math concepts like fractions and decimals get interesting when pragmatic examples like cake or a sandwich are considered. This activity does the same, but with a next-level complexity. To start with, the teacher makes a full cake on board (a circle), with a set of 3 statements to cut it out. For instance, Tom takes a quarter share. This marks the start of the activity.
Now, the teacher adds a statement to divide the cake further. With each statement, the number of slices increases and their value also changes, students, need to update the same. Like, James gave half of his share to his two sons. After the 10th statement, the teacher may ask 5 questions about the values of a particular share. the student who says the most number of right answers gets more points and thus wins.
9. The Grocery Contest
To start with, the teacher arranges 10 bowls having different items in them. They may include pencils, chalk pieces, erasers, etc. Each of them has a certain price—say, a pencil costs $1, and a scale costs $10. Now, the teacher divides all the students into groups of 5. One group will compete at a time.
Each student is offered a certain amount, say $50. Now, each one has to buy items from the store (bowls) and spend the entire money. The only condition is that they must not pick more than 2 similar pencils. For example, they can pick only 2 pencils. The student who buys appropriate items in minimum time will be the winner. The fast calculation is needed to determine what items are to be picked in what amounts, this stipulates students to employ math skills.
10. Bingo with Math
Computation takes the Bingo experience to the next level. To start with, the teacher gives one bingo card to each student. Now, instead of announcing each number directly, the teacher announces algebraic, trigonometry, or any other equation. Students need to find a solution and see if that number is present on their cards. For instance, if the teacher announces (1470/140)*6, the students need to calculate the value (69) to find the same in their card. The first person with all the numbers stricken in their card is the winner. In this activity, students have to solve all the equations in this expedition.
Conclusion
Evidently, activities are pedagogies that upscale personal attributes like communication, leadership, and teamwork. While giving one-to-one correspondence to all the students, math activities are distinct by aiding students to comprehend the practical applications of various math notions by linking them with real-life problems. Some activities that employ manipulatives make notions clear by illustrating the solution in real life. Therefore, Each activity is versatile and assists the students to engage together in a fun, interactive, and creative environment while they learn. Mull over the above picks to see if any of them fits your mathematical goals.
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,