I was in the middle of my masters program and completely inspired by one of my math classes. I wanted to share my enthusiasm by showing teachers and students that kids could and should like math. What better way than to have a math fair for the entire school, sponsored by 5/6? (We were multi-age that year.) I would be happy to organize it. They said, (wait for it...) “No.” I’m sure they had a good reason at the time, but I stopped listening after, NO. Fine, then I would have a math fair for my teammates’ classes and show them exactly how it could work.
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| Activities, Strands, & Levels |
Since there were only four 5/6 classrooms, I figured the library would be the best place to have it, so I set a date that worked for everyone, and blocked out two hours for the first official Math Fair at our school. Next, the plan. There would be activities from every math strand, and enough for two to three of my students managing each event. I wanted to give my students an opportunity to visit the different tables, so the schedule included a 20 minute break for each person.
Since this was the end of the school year, coming up with activities was easy. I just pulled from everything we had done that year, along with all the games and activities I collected over the years in my math tool box. You can finds some of those games here.
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| Materials |
I presented the list to my students, letting them pick the activity they wanted to run. Their responsibilities included making the signs-including rules, name the activity if it didn't have an official name, and any vocabulary needed for understanding, figuring out what materials were needed for their event, gathering them, setting up, running the activities, and cleaning up when we were finished. (There's a time and a place for a great run-on sentence, and this was it!)
The event was a huge success! Our visiting classes were scheduled for 30 minute blocks of time, but every class stayed longer. The other classes passed by on their way to Specials (Art, Music & PE) and wanted to know why they couldn’t come. My teammates were sold.
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| Event Work Schedule |
The following year, the entire team hosted a school-wide math fair. The organization was primarily the same, except we were adding different age ranges, K-6. My teammates had a choice of bringing their own favorite math games and activities, or using some that I had available. Kids chose their activity and were scheduled for their time off to visit the other tables. Each classroom was responsible for setting up their own tables with signs and materials needed.
We used a stoplight sign at each activity to let students know what activities were designed for their grade level, again covering every math strand. Overlapping was fine. No one was turned away from an activity because of their grade level. As we prepared, I showed my students how to modify some of the activities for younger kids.
This time, we definitely needed more room than the library, so I drew a set-up map of the gym showing everyone where they would be located. Guest classes were sent an invitation with instructions on how to sign up for a block of time and information on the stoplights and appropriate math levels, as well as a copy of the set-up map. A note went home to parents, inviting them to participate, also.
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| These were suggested levels placed at each activity. |
During Math Fair, I used the overhead to post cool number facts on the screen, and we played classical music through the gym's sound system. There were estimation jars, one donated from each of our four sponsoring classrooms, where kids could estimate the number of contents and win. Again, a huge success with classes asking if they could stay longer.
From that point on, and until I left that school, Math Fair became a regular event, hosted by 6th grade. I’m sure I’ve been told “NO” since then; but really, all that means is they haven’t tried it yet and don’t know how good an idea it really is! (Have I told you about Space Symposium? Ah...another blog for another time.)
"It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them." Steve Jobs, BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998
