Making Math Relevant
By Mary Ellen Bafumo

The easiest way to learn anything is to make the topic or activity relevant to life. Remember when you were learning to drive? If you were like most teenagers, no one had to force you. You badgered adults to let you practice and were eager to master the skills and knowledge needed to pass the driver's test. In short, there was meaning and purpose to the task of learning to drive.

The mystery of math
The same is true for math. If you clearly demonstrate the relevancy of math to everyday life, students can more easily see the purpose of learning and embracing the subject. But before you make math relevant, you'll need to overcome one more roadblock – negative mindsets about math. Math still remains a mystery subject for too many students and that view hasn't changed in decades. There are students who "get it" and soar ahead. Others struggle to make meaning of a process, concept or formula that seems incomprehensible. You can demystify math by sharing that it's not a numeric code that can only be broken by those with special aptitudes. It is a language of pattern and order. Every student uses language of some sort and has some level of fluency; therefore, everyone can succeed in math.

A language everyone speaks
The human brain drives learning through its search for patterns. Math uses patterns to create order and meaning. Like every academic subject, math has a specific vocabulary. Numerator, denominator, dividend and remainder are just a few of the words associated with math. All of the processes, formulas and concepts work to create order through patterns. The task of those who teach math is to convey this language of pattern and order in ways that show its relevance to everyday life. Once you've shared with students that math is a language everyone speaks (uses) daily, try adapting these activities to build math fluency, promote higher-level thinking and overtly connect math with everyday life.

Now, go have fun with math!
Measurement is a prevalent topic nationally in K-8 curriculum, so it is our example for active, relevant learning.

First, provide rulers, yardsticks or tape measures to your students. Photocopy a ruler and make cut-out copies if you don't have enough rulers available.

Create teams of students to measure the perimeter of the classroom. You won't get exact results – talk about variation in measurement. Adjust the following questions to meet your students' needs.

1. If there are 25 people using the room, what process do you use to find out how much space is available for each one? Calculate the space per person. Try measuring the space per person in your kitchen at home.
2. Use tape to block out the available space per person. Is it enough? Too little? Decrease the space by "x" inches per person. How many more people could the room hold? Increase the space by "x" inches per person. How many fewer would it hold? What happens when more people are placed in a small space? Do you need more or less space per person in your kitchen at home? Why?
3. Tape out an area in the reading corner that would accommodate 24 students sitting closely together. Use the formula for area (L x W) to calculate how much carpet is needed. If carpet remnants are $2.50 per yard, how much will carpeting the area cost? Do your students think that having a carpeted area in the classroom will make a difference in learning?
4. Measure a room in your home for carpeting and then calculate the cost using the $2.50 figure.
5. Measure the classroom doorway. How many students can walk side by side through it at the same time? How many lines of "x" students will it take to empty the classroom? What process is used to determine the answer? Why is an orderly exit especially important during an emergency? Measure a doorway in your house. How many family members can exit at the same time in an emergency?
6. Since food is a guaranteed motivator in most classrooms, show the relevance of math to daily life by distributing colorful grocery ads and having students work in pairs to create their own math challenges around their favorite foods or healthy snacks. Example: how many 16 ounce bags of carrots would be needed for the whole class to have a snack if each serving was four ounces? What would that cost, according to the grocery ad?
7. Use newspaper ads for retail clothing stores and invite your students to create a collage of an outfit they'd like to have with the purchase price next to each item. If they saved "x" amount per week, how long would it take to purchase the outfit?
8. The homeless shelter is asking students to donate one days' worth of snack money to those who are in need. If every student shared a quarter, how much would the class contribute? If the class raised $20, what amount would each student donate?

Bring relevance to math and help your students become fluent in the language of pattern and order.

Mary Ellen Bafumo is a Program Director for the Council on Educational Change, an Annenberg legacy group.

January 2006, Vol.36, No.4