Courtnay Gillingwater

Shaunda Wood

Elementary School Math Methods A2

March 3 2018

Annotated Bibliography: Making Math Engaging and Fun

Bafumo, M.W. (2006). Best Practices – Making Math Relevant. Teaching Pre K-8, 26(4), 10.

This article focuses on the fact that if we want children to succeed in math, teachers need to do as

they do in every other subject and that is to make subject materials relevant to students and

present them in a context they can relate to. Math can be especially abstract and just been like

numbers and formulas, but when taught with purpose, students can see that their entire world

exists in math, it should not be a mystery. Students should be confident using mathematical

language and be given many opportunities to use and practice terms. In my classroom, I want

every child to feel like they can succeed at math, and by giving it context I believe this is

accomplishable.

Bezanson, C., & Killion, J. (2001). Moving math outdoors. Green Teacher, (64), 31.

This article addresses the ever so popular question many students have with math – “when am I

ever going to use then?” in a forward-thinking way that involves activities outdoors to add

context to math in their natural environment as well as promote physical activity. Students are
connected to their school yard and spend a lot of their young life around the schools campus, and

are therefor very connected to that space making it a great use for math surrounding number

sense, patterns and relationships, measurement, estimation, geometry, statistics and probability ,

in order to connect math the students “real world”. This article has so many fun and practical

ways you I can incorporate math into outdoor activities! I look forward to finding creative ways I

can get my students outside and learning at the same time.

Lewis, T. (2005). Facts + Fun = Fluency. Teaching Children Mathematics, 12(1).

This article encourages teachers to plan fun, engaging, effective and self-motivating activities

that encourage the computational fluency of children. It suggests several math games that can be

adjusted for different levels and grades. When children are playing, they are engaged, and

learning can come naturally. Students love familiarizing themselves and mastering their favorite

games and most enjoy playing with and against their peers. As they master the games, they are

practicing and mastering essential math skills! Returning to games that students are familiar with

and can play independently provides a good opportunity for observing and assessing the class

and individuals, as well as can provide time for conferencing with certain students for extra help

or enrichment.

Richardson, K. (2004). Designing Math Trails for the Elementary School. Teaching Children

Mathematics, 11(1), 8-14.

Here we are introduced to an activity, “math trails” that can be used in different complexities for

different levels, ages, or grades that simultaneously accomplishes problem solving, making

connections, communicating, and applying skills in a meaningful context. A math trail guides

students along a pre-planned route outdoors with stops along to way to solve and explore math

concepts in their environment. Students can learn to navigate their environment and apply their

mathematical knowledge to the outdoors through enjoyable and interesting activities! Students

can become familiar with following math maps designed by the teacher, and eventually could

design their own for other student in the class to complete! This is a great way to get students

active outside, having fun with math, and creating a practical connection from math to their

world!

Van de Walle, K. Folk, S. Karp., Bay-Williams, J., & Mcgarvey, L.M. (2016). (5th Canadian

ed.). Elementary and middle school mathematics: Teaching developmentally. Toronto,

ON: Pearson.

This textbook was our Elementary Mathematics textbook in my university Education degree, and

it has become my essential handbook for revisiting concepts, learning effective teaching

methods, and developing interesting and successful activities for Mathematics in my classroom.

No beginning Mathematics teacher is properly equipped without the Elementary and middle

school mathematics: Teaching developmentally textbook written by Van de Walle et al. Each

chapter covers every part of the math curriculum from Kindergarten to Grade 8. Careful

consideration is given to deeply explore every topic to ensure every teacher with this text is

prepared to offer the best learning experience in Mathematics for their students.
Xiaofen Zhang, M. A. (Ken) Clements, & Nerida F. Ellerton. (2015). Engaging Students with

Multiple Models of Fractions. Teaching Children Mathematics, 22(3), 138-147.

Fractions are an area in math many students find difficult and this has always been surprising for

me, because I find they can be applied to such practical situations. Creative teaching is essential

here. This article focuses on the fact that it is important for students to experience many

representations of fractions, so they will soon discover what a necessary and common focal point

fractions are in our lives. Some great examples are given in this article of activities for upper age

elementary students to explore fractional concepts. Having multiple models if s important for

learning fractions but the same can be said for every other area of math. The more hands on

experiences and practical representations of math students are exposed to, the better success they

will have as young mathematicians!