For example, during Mrs. Hall’s unit on graphs and line plots, Grade 2 students learned how to create and analyze three types of graphs: picture graphs, bar graphs, and line plots. To make it more engaging, Mrs. Hall had her students collect data on topics that interest them. "Some students chose to ask about preferred Graland snacks, while others chose to survey favorite colors," Mrs. Hall said. "Students are more engaged when they have an element of choice in what they do." Mrs. Hall also noticed that learning outcomes are improved and lessons are more enjoyable when the topics are relatable or important to her students. "The second graders were excited to create graphs to represent the data they collected," Mrs. Hall said. Ultimately, creative strategies like these helped the students to see math everywhere, not just in the classroom. "Since completing this unit, students have been excited to find graphs in all kinds of different places," Mrs. Hall shared.

 

Similarly, Grade 2 teacher Mrs. Mimnall has been helping her students engage more enthusiastically with their math curriculum in their current unit exploring how multiplication and addition are related. "This is a great chapter for playing games and integrating picture books," Mrs. Mimnall said. One of the games the students played involved rolling dice to represent different amounts of pieces of pepperoni on imaginary pizzas. After rolling the dice and drawing their pizzas on whiteboards, the students would both add and multiply their pepperoni to compare final answers. "These activities are helping reinforce the understanding that multiplication is repeated addition and that multiplication is useful in the real world," Mrs. Mimnall explained. Perhaps even more important, though, is that these games make learning fun. "When students are having fun and applying their knowledge to real-world situations, they have an easier time retaining the information," Mrs. Mimnall said. Great work, Grade 2!