Math instruction doesn’t have to be—and shouldn’t be—solely limited to paper and pencil practice. Math is all around your students in the real world, from helping out in the kitchen to playing on sports teams and in the arts. But if students only view math time as silent desk work and exams, they might assume they’ll never be a math person. They’ll miss out on the fascinating possibilities – and fun! – of math.
To help students see that math goes far beyond the classroom walls, teachers often connect math concepts to real-life situations, use visuals and manipulatives, and encourage discussions. These kinds of engaging math activities create a classroom environment that celebrates mathematical thinking. Changing how your students approach math with fun and easy activities promotes interactive learning.
Why does student engagement matter in math?
Even the most well-intentioned lesson will fall short if your students are disengaged. In those moments, teachers scramble to find ways to connect. It's no secret that children can perform better when there’s buy-in, excitement, and variety to keep and hold their attention during math lessons. The elementary school years are an especially short and critical window to create an engaged math community and show students how interesting math can be to inspire lifelong learning.
Incorporating instructional strategies for math can unlock student motivation and increase math confidence. Plus, students who are engaged with content are more likely to retain information and achieve mastery of foundational math skills, such as math fact fluency and fractions, to be well-equipped to take on higher-level math concepts in the future.
Setting students up for future math success
With strong math engagement, learning will no longer feel like work but rather a fun, interactive challenge where students can experience success, which is crucial. When students get a taste of success, it builds confidence in their abilities and fosters intrinsic motivation. When students realize they can do it, they’re more likely to take on new challenges and persevere.
Encouraging teacher buy-in for math engagement
When teachers find tools that work with all students in a variety of situations, the enthusiasm is contagious! That’s why math teacher buy-in is so critical. Teachers count on each other to share resources that deliver results, like Reflex and Frax. Of course, educators want evidence-based edtech tools, but there’s another component that is equally important – student engagement. Resources can become struggles if students aren’t engaged in the learning process. Teachers know all too well how powerful it is when evidence and engagement are combined.
“We have used a variety of math programs, but there is nothing out there like Reflex and Frax. Reflex and Frax are making math facts fun to learn and fraction basics engaging. They keep my students’ attention, and the data is incredible.” -Teacher
Importance of math fact fluency
Extensive research underscores the critical role of fact fluency in elementary school math and beyond. When students are fluent in basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts, they free up brain power and working memory to tackle more advanced math in the future, such as word problems, multi-step equations, algebra, and calculus. Math fact fluency also impacts students’ success with fractions, and their ability to retrieve math facts is a known predictor of success on standardized tests, data interpretation, and mathematical reasoning.
Why do fractions matter?
A foundational understanding of fractions significantly impacts students’ success with more advanced coursework, including algebra. In fact, research shows that knowledge of fractions at the end of grade 5 was identified as a strong and unique predictor of success many years later in high school math. By engaging students in elementary fractions instruction, they will be much better prepared for advanced work with fractions in elementary school and later grade levels.
6 fun math engagement strategies that work
Math instruction doesn’t have to be boring or repetitive! Your students can have fun and boost math performance at the same time. Try these math teaching strategies to help your students learn and practice their math facts and important fraction concepts in a variety of ways.
- Infuse interactive learning. Math lends itself to powerful hands-on learning. Use manipulatives and models to help students “see” math concepts in real life. Provide a variety of manipulative options for students to discover during whole-group and small-group lessons. Manipulatives can also be great in math centers or math station bins.
- Make math problems fun. You can turn any practice question into a fun classroom challenge. Repurpose test review questions as a gallery walk around the classroom. Create a breakout challenge or math escape room using existing problems in your textbook. Have students work in small groups to create and solve their own fun math problems that relate to the real world for even stronger connections.
- Incorporate math games. Who doesn’t love a little friendly competition? Increase student math engagement with classic games students love. Play math bingo, practice skills using a deck of cards, or have students play math board games in small groups.
- Take math outside. A simple change of scenery can often increase student motivation and bring something new to a lesson. Have your students complete practice problems outside on clipboards or on picnic blankets. Grab some chalk to write math problems on the pavement. Host a relay race with math questions…the options are endless!
- Empower students with choice. Just like adults, your students appreciate having options. When appropriate and possible, provide students with choices to increase student motivation. Create math choice boards with a variety of early-finisher options. Give students an option in how they can present their final work on an assessment or practice problem. Provide two different problem sets with different themes, like sports or animals.
- Use online games and competitions. Take game-based fun up a level and increase student learning with digital math gamification tools. Use fast-paced review platforms like Kahoot, Blooket, or Gimkit to reinforce concepts. Create your own virtual escape room using Google Forms. Or try game-based and interactive math tools like Reflex and Frax to help students have fun with math practice. Reflex and Frax are fueled by adaptive games, which allow students to learn by doing as they complete interactive puzzles, challenges, and missions while having fun. Teachers can even set up a healthy rivalry between other classes in their buildings with Reflex Competitions and Frax Competitions.
Gamifying math education with Reflex and Frax for boosted math performance
From serving aliens ice cream to piloting a hot air balloon, Reflex helps students develop fluency while staying engaged with fast-paced games that don’t feel like work. As students progress in Reflex games, the system continuously adjusts the difficulty of fact retrieval based on their progress, providing an adequate level of challenge within each student’s current abilities. Reflex helps foster an engaging classroom community as students work to achieve individual and group milestones.
Fun with fractions: Frax math games and lessons
You can also infuse game-based learning to help students develop a strong understanding of fractions. With Frax, students develop mastery of fractions as they progress through carefully scaffolded, story-driven missions. Students can track their progress and reflect on their learning throughout Frax with the Missions Completed Tracker. Frax certificates are also available for achievement awards. How about awards for Most Tokens Earned, Great Teamwork in Captain's Checkpoints, or Great Fraction Discussions, which can be found in the Virtual Learning Community for Reflex and Frax teachers.
Teachers love the positive results for all students. And students love to have fun with learning. Frax delivers fun fractions lessons. Turn lessons into fraction math games and challenges.
- High Score Tracker keeps students motivated as they record their high scores throughout the year!
- Hold a Green Light Contest. Decide if you want to have students in teams or have students compete individually and track their own green light days.
- Encourage students to complete all Missions in the Sector and gain access to the Review Room. Students continue practicing the skills they learned in that sector's Missions as the most engaging games reappear in a new, arcade-like format!
- Customization, engaging offline materials, and more keep students engaged with fractions…sometimes for the first time ever!
Start making math fun today
And students make huge math strides while having fun with Reflex and Frax. The latest research found that across all achievement levels, grade 3 and 4 students who used Reflex and Frax experienced significant academic growth in short periods of time with larger score gains compared to non-users. The most academically at-risk excelled at even greater rates. Frax and Reflex users who scored two or more grade levels below in the fall had 56% greater scale score gains and were nearly three times as likely to reach their stretch growth goals.
“As an educator in the mathematics field, I have never seen a program have a greater impact on our young learners than Reflex and Frax.” -K-12 Director of Mathematics and Instructional Technology
Are you ready to make an impact with math resources that are effective, engaging, and fun? Start a trial today with your students!
