3. TED ED Math Riddle Videos: When I stumbled upon these a few years ago, I couldn’t stop talking about them. To this day, I still share them with as many teachers as I can. The engagement level, the creative problem-solving, and the higher-level thinking skills utilized all help to build a love for math learning. Bonus: check out this list we created of 13 of our favorites, separated by grade level to make the search for the right task a bit easier!
4. 3 Act Math: I love the simplicity of these tasks and the problem-solving skills that each requires. I also love how students will go about solving these tasks in a variety of ways, while still being able to arrive at a common solution.
5. Esti-Mysteries: If you are looking for a thought leader in the math education world, Steve Wybourney is your person. He happens to be the creator of these estimation tasks and also a ton of other helpful classroom resources. I recommend also checking out his math Splats, subitizing tasks to help build students’ ability to recognize a set of objects without counting.
Inquiry builds on children’s inherent sense of curiosity and wonder, drawing on their diverse backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Simply by taking advantage of this fact, we can help students connect with math in new and exciting ways while also laying the foundations for future learning. So in your next math lesson, make room for student inquiry and watch as your students revel in their newfound sense of discovery.
Related:
How our school is reimagining math education
Students are still behind in math–what needs to change?