Let’s chat about incorporating our favorite themes into our math activities and digital resources! I’ve been talking all about this over on Instagram lately. When we include our passions in our resources, we create AMAZING activities for our students! I’m going to expand a little bit on exactly what I mean and how easy it is to do! 😊
Adding Personal Expression to Math Activities
I am constantly advocating for teachers to try to create just one digital resource. Just one 😉. I debunked a bunch of myths that seemed to be holding back teachers from trying. (Click here to read those) When teachers message me that they want to give it a try, I send them my digital resource planner. Next, I ask them what their passion is. If you’ve been in the Savvy Apple community for any length of time, you know that I’m passionate about math. Even though my guidance and planner are based on math activities, my steps and technological instruction applies to any subject matter.
Do you love the arts and/or dancing? Create fun movement resources. Do you struggle trying to find really cool science activities for your students? Create one to meet your specific needs. Do you love birds, and your students know it? Make a bird-themed resource. Is your school a big supporter of the local sports team? Use a sport theme. 🏈 The point I’m trying to make is that you don’t have to create every single resource for your classroom. Start with☝️. When you use a theme that you’re passionate about, not only will it be fun, but it will seem so easy.
How to Find your Personal Style
Are you asking yourself, how do I do this? I don’t really have a “style”. Well, that’s easy. Take a look around your classroom. If you’re teaching from home, glance around your teaching space. What colors do you see? Do you have a favorite knick-knack that’s on your desk? What about your organizational baskets and writing tools? Do you see a color theme going on? I bet you do! 😊 This is what I mean when I speak of a personal style.
Sometimes when I feel stuck during the creation process, I look around my space and find inspiration. I recently shared a fun math activity called Breakfast Buds that was inspired through Sunday breakfast with my family. At first you might not think that breakfast with my family is my personal style, but it is. Family time is important to me, and you can use anything that’s important to you in your digital resources. Keep reading to hear about my recent inspiration.
Incorporating Students’ Interests into Math Activities
In our classrooms, we take time to create an engaging environment where our students will be eager to learn. We hang posters that will interest them, use bright colors on anchor charts, and utilize students’ interests for center activities. Creating digital math activities is the same thing. When I have teachers reach out to me who are struggling to create their first product, I tell them not to make it difficult.
The first step to creating fun math activities is to plan it out. I created a free planner based on the one that I use. If you’d like to download it, click here for access. 😉 Start by thinking about what your students like to do. (I like to keep a running list going so I don’t forget) When you read to them, do they like a particular story based on an activity or game? ⚾️ Baseball, anyone? If so, use it for your digital resource. This keeps students interested in the lesson. Start with one; make it simple.
You know your students. Pretend you are planning a party for your class. You know how we go into the party stores and browse the aisles searching for that perfect party theme? Same concept, except….it doesn’t have to be perfect. We just want to catch their attention and keep it. For example, start with a fun math activity that incorporates one or two of your students’ names. Kids love this!
Start Creating Fun Math Activities
Next, you want to JUST BEGIN! 😃 That’s right. Just start one. Even if the resource is only a couple of pages long, it doesn’t matter. You could whip one right up while you are binge watching your favorite show. If you’ve already made one, or many, freshen them up. Just by swapping some clip art with ones that interest your students, you’ll have a whole new batch that will feel new to them. This is especially helpful if you have a student struggling with a concept or skill. Changing the look of the resource, either through color or images, can help them engage with the resource a little better through connection with their interests.
I hope this helps you see that creating a fun math activity, or any activity for that matter, doesn’t have to be challenging. Although, I am up for a good challenge. 😉 You see, I recently did a Wizard of Oz theme for my daughter, Lily’s, birthday. She loves the Wizard of Oz! I picked out some Wizard of Oz clip art, and the ideas started to flow! First, I created posters for Lily’s party. I even made a birthday banner with this theme. Can you see how I took something that my daughter is passion about and turned that into different items? And yes, I’m a math fanatic, but the skills and strategies I use in my math resources are the same ones I can apply to different types of resources! Once you learn the tips and tricks, you can create on any topic you’d like!
Getting back to the challenge I mentioned, I was on Instagram LIVE and was chatting about the Wizard of Oz birthday party. One of the Savvy Apple community members said “How about you create a skip-counting resource with ruby red slippers?” I’m always up for a challenge 😊 so I said yes! I am obsessed with the Wizard of Oz! I began brainstorming ways we could skip-count by 2s with ruby red slippers…
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Do you see how easy it is to create fun math activities when you make one based on a passion? I hope so. If you still need some encouragement or have questions, comment below. I’d love to help!
Have great week!
Jess @Savvy Apple