Sparking Interest in Learning Math!!! Math 1510 Post #3

25 divided by 5 equals ???

or

If you have 25 gumballs and you want to split them up equally between 5 people how many gumballs will each person get???

Now which problem will spark more interest with a group of young students? I believe that the word problem will. What kid doesn't like candy? Why not use it in math? It is an easy way to grab the attention of the students. Find things that students are interested in and incorporate them into a math lesson. 

Many math lessons can seem pretty dry and somewhat boring to children. One way to make a simple math problem interesting is by relating it to something that the students enjoy. Using word problems to teach even the most simple problems can spark an interest in the students. This will make them feel more involved and they will enjoy what they are leaning much more. 

There are many different ways that you can make math interesting for students. You can use word problems, relate problems to the interests of the students, use visual aids, have students act out problems, the list goes on and on. There are so many different things that you can do to engage students and make math fun. You just need to spark the interest!!!