“Real learning connotates use. If something is not going to be used or applied in some manner, it won’t get learned”-William Reinsmith. Did you know… making the content of what children are learning relevant and meaningful increases the chance that what they are learning is going to stick? Who would’ve thought! Children are driven to feel useful and naturally crave having a great sense of purpose. However, learning in a traditional classroom is often void of meaningfulness and purpose. Helping children to make the connections between what they are learning and how to apply it to real world scenarios goes a long way. Math projects in WonderHere’s curriculum strive to do just that! By presenting math concepts in a way that is purposeful and relatable to real world situations, students are given the chance to apply them in a way that it meaningful. In the HAZMAT(h) Unit Math project, students get to imagine what it would be like to be a first responder on the scene of an oil fire at a gas station. Their problem-solving skills are immediately put to use while observing the scene of the accident. Students working in the Primary HAZMAT(h) Project (generally grades K-2) will then practice measuring to secure a perimeter.
Meanwhile students working in the Comprehensive HAZMAT(h) Project (generally grades 3-5) begin tackling the mathematical concept of ordered pairs in order to make sense of the scene. As the project continues, students cover various topics, such as 2-D and 3-D shapes, area and perimeter, ratios, converting measurements, skip counting, and adding money.
The way in which the above math concepts are woven into a real-world situation (in which the children are the ones in charge of the accident scene) helps them to build confidence that what they are learning really matters. They feel empowered that they can do hard things and that the things they do are important and serve a purpose. Math is everywhere around us, all day, every day. This math project helps to bring a little bit of that into your child’s learning.
