Begin class with a video. It might be a video which could introduce the topic such as a scene out of a show where one of the characters is able to say how long it will take the car to arrive. Or it might be a video clip from one of the three act tasks, or maybe it is a trailer type feature you made yourself using iMovie. What ever the choice, it is going to be something short and sweet which grabs their interest and is related to the concept.
For instance, you might show bridges or water sprinklers when talking about quadratic functions, or a short cooking lesson for fractions, or even a racing car when discussing rate and time. You might take pictures you found or hand written formulas and integrate them into one of the trailers you can make in iMovie. These templates come with music, text boxes, and it is easy to put one together. It is short and can be quite fun.
Another way to start class is by showing one or more items associated with the concept. If you are doing interest, you might place money out or for ratios, one can of frozen orange juice and three cans of water. For distance formulas, you could put a toy car out and for the quadratic formula a ball works nicely. The idea is that you put the object out in front of the class so they can ponder on the up coming lesson. Give them a minute or two to think about the object before asking them how they think the object relates to math. Let them brainstorm before you dive into the lesson.
Begin the class with a question that either asks them what they know about a topic, asks them to relate a topic to something they've learned, or what they think about something. The question could be in a poll, in a google document, or requires whole class discussion, or a small group conversation. Starting with a question starts the students thinking about the topic. The question might be general or specific, be based on the topic or a real world application of the concept, or even as simple as what do you know about.....?
Instead of starting seated, throw some movement in. A simple way of incorporating a bit of movement is to have students use a maker to write an answer to a posted question on a paper or white board while standing. They then hold their answers up over their head so the teacher can see them. The teacher goes through the answers, asking each student to sit as their answer is scanned.
Another variation is to prepare several copies of the same worksheets containing 3 to 5 questions. Pass the worksheets out to all the students and have them answer the first question. They need to put their names next to the problem when done to show they did that one. Then they fold the papers into airplanes, stand up and throw the planes to each other on the teachers command so they have a new sheet. They sit down, answer another problem, fold it up again and fly it to another student. When all questions have been answered, collect them to assess later.
Finally, begin class with a mistake. The mistake might be a common one students made on an assignment, it might be one you created, or one found online. One site Math Mistakes has a collection of math mistakes you can use for inspiration. Spend the first few minutes of class having students figure out where the mistake happened and how to correct it. This could be done as a whole or small group activity. It could be done via google slides, flip grid, or other digital method or it could be done via a discussion. This activity helps students learn to identify mistakes and use this as a way of learning the material better.
Hope you find this helpful. Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear. Have a great day.
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