Does Math Class Have To Be Fun All Year?

A MiddleWeb Blog

I overheard a fellow math teacher say to another teacher, “I’m trying to make it fun!” Immediately I was hit with a wave of guilt. Fun has not been a priority lately.

In my math classes, we were behind already, and then we lost a day to snow and got further behind. We have been going non-stop trying to catch up.

I noticed during class a couple of days ago that my students were not “in it” anymore. I looked out at the class, and the students were paying attention but I could tell there was no joy there.

All teachers know when they’ve lost the students’ interest, momentum, whatever you want to call it. Regardless of the cause, I felt like I need to get them back on my side and back “in it.”

It’s not just the students, it’s me too. I have been feeling burned out lately as well. Maybe it’s too much to expect that math will be fun every day, all year. But I need to find something to reinvigorate me and get me out of this rut so I will get my joy back.



How I Get My Joy Back  

Whenever I reach this point, these are some things I do:

► I like to talk to other teachers and ask them how they teach the topic I’m currently teaching. I also like to ask them if they have any new activities, games, or challenges that they are doing. I’m lucky: I work in a department with six other math teachers so I have a lot of people I can turn to for inspiration.

► I enjoy doing research to see if I can find some math tidbit to get excited about. I also like checking in with some of my favorite math people and resources on line to see what new things I can find. Even though the students make fun of me (good-naturedly), they get a kick out my being excited about some math news or fact. They’ll usually say, “I bet you go home and do math problems for fun.” (I do in fact do math problems for fun!) Here are some of my favorite sources for ideas and activities:

M+A+T+H = love

Mrs. E TEACHES Math

Skew the Script AP Stats Curriculum

MathCoachBlog AP Stats Resources

How to Make Class More Fun for Students

Worksheet bingo: Students number the bingo card any way they choose. I then give them a worksheet with 24 questions. After students work the problems, they fill in the bingo card with the answers. To win they have to bingo in the traditional sense and also have the answers to the problems correct. This one I use sparingly; worksheets are obviously not the best way to engage students.



Trashketball: Students work problems. Each problem they work correctly allows them to try to make one throw at the trash can. (In an effort to not kill too many trees I save up all my old copies that are only written on one side). Source

Row game: I’m not sure what to call this or even where it came from, but what I do is put students in teams based on their row. Everyone in a row is on one team. I put a math question up on the board. Everyone works the problem, no collaborating. When I call time, I go to the first person on each row. If they have it right, their team gets the point. If they don’t, I go to the next person in the row. If someone in their row has it right, their team gets the point.

The next round I start at the second person in the row. This encourages every student to at least try the problem. For a little more excitement, I will randomly choose a team using the random number generator on my calculator. If one member of the team agrees to go to the board and explain their answer and how they worked the problem, their team gets another point.

Math competition: For this one I pick some math questions and students buzz in when they or someone on their team knows the answer. For the questions, I try to pick problems that are accessible to all the students. So for my 10th grade students, I recently gave them 7th grade end-of-course questions. We had the most fun, and the wireless eggspert was a game changer. My students loved using it to ring in. Unfortunately it has gone up in price since I bought mine, but they do put it on sale from time to time.
Wireless Eggspert

Reminding Myself of the Big Picture

Math can difficult and it definitely takes hard work and practice. But balance is important. If students don’t buy in and find something to enjoy in math class, there will not be a lot of learning (or joy). If I am not joyful and enthusiastic, the students can tell and they don’t get as much out of the class. I have found taking time to create some fun and excitement pays dividends in the future.

How do you create fun in your classroom? How do you keep your joy?

Michelle Russell

Michelle Russell (@michel1erussel1) is a math teacher at Florence (AL) High School. She began her career as a student teacher in middle school and has taught students from 7th to 12th grade. She currently teaches high school math, including Algebra, Pre-Calculus, AP Statistics, and Algebra 2 with Trigonometry. In her free time, she enjoys reading books about math education and following other math teachers on social media.

5 Responses

  1. Deb Bulin says:

    I use BINGO games from different holidays. Students go to board to do a question then draw a picture from the BINGO card. I play Connect 4 and various other “games” as homework alternatives so that all students are involved. Thanks for the ideas you shared.

  2. Michelle J Russell says:

    That’s a good idea for Bingo! And using it as homework replacement- very smart!!

  3. Lauren Brown says:

    Hi, Michelle. I have 2 reactions at once. First, the pressure to make learning fun is such a burden that I think puts too much responsibility for learning on teachers instead of students. Second, despite that, the feeling and pressure is real and I’m there with you! Always trying to find ways to make my classes fun and interesting.

    I’m a history teacher, so I don’t have any math ideas for you, but check out the “Five Twelve Thirteen” Substack of Dylan Kane at https://fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/math-is-awesome.

    • Michelle J Russell says:

      First of all, I totally agree with you that it feels like a burden to make learning fun, and I often think that students need to get used to learning for learning’s sake. But… then I think back to classes that I enjoyed as a student, and they weren’t always fun, but the teacher was generally excited and was willing to try different things, so that’s what I try to model my teaching on. And if the kids are excited and happy I feel better. Also a big thank you for sharing the “Five Twelve Thirteen.” It is a resource I did not know about and it’s awesome! I am going to share it with my whole department!

  4. Lauren Brown says:

    I like your reflection on what you liked as a student. What you are describing is, perhaps, the difference between “fun” and “meaningful.” Glad the math website is helpful!

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