10 Ways to Use Math Outside of the Classroom
We are ALL mathematicians! Our students are problem solvers in and out of the classroom. Looking for ways to practice math at home without a worksheet or a computer program? We’ve got you covered! There is nothing as fun as using math to help us in the real world.
TIME: Ask your student to estimate how long an activity will take. Will it take 1 hour, 1 minute, 1 second? Then time your student getting something done! “It took you 17 minutes to clean your room, your estimation was close!” For older students, focus on elapsed time, you started cleaning your room at 1:23pm. You finished at 1:40pm. How long did it take you to finish?
MONEY: Got change in your pocket? Let your student count it up for you! Ask them to sort the coins and use their skip counting skills to help! For an extra challenge, have them write down how much you have each day and add it up for decimal practice!
ARRAYS: My favorite way to practice multiplication is with Cheerios! “Show me 3x5 with an array? How many rows? How many columns? What’s the product?” Even more fun, if you eat the math supplies at the end!
SKIP COUNTING: 2, 4, 6, 8 who do we appreciate? OUR FAMILIES! Skip counting is such an important foundational skill for all learners! The best part is- you can practice anywhere! My favorite way is to go back and forth. Let your child say a number and then you go next!
FRACTIONS: Cooking dinner? Ask your student to focus on fractions during this time! “I have a ¼ cup of flour, I need ¾ cups of flour for this recipe. How many times should I fill it up?” Let them do the measuring for some hands on fun!
PERCENTAGES: Out shopping? Ask your student to calculate the final price of the item on sale.For example, if a shirt costs $50 and it is on sale for 25% off, have your student tell you how much the shirt will cost after discount?
LINEAR EQUATIONS/BUDGETING: Opening a savings account? Have you students calculate how long it will take them to save a desired amount of money, if they save a certain amount for a period of time. For example, if Monica wants to save $275 and she starts with $25 and saves $10 per month, how many months will it take her to save $275.
UNIT RATE: Grocery Shopping? Have your students figure out what the better buy is. For example, compare the cost of two different sizes of cereal, $4.00 for a 14 oz box versus $5.00 for a 26 oz box, figure out which one has a smaller unit rate and saves you money!
SCALE: Redesigning a Room? Have your student create a scaled down version of the room on graph paper and work on designing the room in a miniature version to scale. This will work with students on how to scale down (shrink) real world items to create a model of the original. It will also work with students on multiplication of fractions or dividing by a fraction.
AREA/PERIMETER: Measuring a Room? Students can practice calculating the perimeter of a room by measuring the outside edge of the room. Students can calculate the area of the room by measuring the length and width of a room. Or you can assign them a specific area in the room that you may want to place a rug on and have them calculate the area of the space.
