Welcome, families! As we settle into the new year, let's explore how to make math meaningful by focusing on making connections. This means helping students see how the mathematical concepts and strategies they learn in the classroom are connected to one another and to the world around them. When students connect math to their lived experiences, it becomes more relevant, understandable, and joyful!
Connecting it Back to the Classroom
"Connecting" is a fundamental Mathematical Process, it helps students see how mathematical ideas are related to each other, to other subjects, and most importantly, to everyday life. When students make connections, they move beyond memorizing procedures and build understanding. They begin to understand the why of different math concepts and how it applies to real-world situations. For example, understanding that counting by twos to sort socks is the same foundational math as multiplying by two to figure out how many shoes are in a room.
Engaging in CONNECTION CONVERSATIONS at Home
You don't need a formal lesson to help students make mathematical connections! Here are ways to spark conversations:
- Sorting and Comparing:
- Primary Foci
- “What colour/size/shape are they?” ,
- “Can you find something else that looks like this?”
- “Which one is heavier? How could we check?”
- Junior Foci
- What attributes can you use to sort these? Colour? Texture? Size? Shape?”
- “Can you group them another way? Why did you choose that?”
- “Can you describe the differences using measurement words like longer, taller, heavier, or thicker?”
- Intermediate Foci
- “How could you describe these using precise measurements (cm, g,mL)?”
- “Compare these 3D shapes—what properties do they have in common? How do their volumes or surface areas differ?”
- “Can you create a sorting rule that uses two or more attributes at once (e.g., size and weight)?”
- Primary Foci
Comparing Speed: When going to a familiar place (e.g. the park, a friend's house, or even a different room in your home), discuss two possible routes.This task invites students to estimate and compare travel times using different routes. It introduces concepts like time, distance, efficiency, and eventually rate and ratio.
- Primary Foci
- Which way do you think will be faster? Why?”, “Should we walk slowly or quickly to get there on time?”
- “Let’s time it! Was your prediction right?”
- Junior Foci
- “How many minutes did it take us on each route?”
- “If we were running, would it change the time? What if we were biking?”
- “If the distance is the same, why might one way take longer?”
- Intermediate Foci
- “Let’s figure out the rate: If it took 5 minutes to go 600 metres, how fast were we going (m/min)?”
- “Compare the speed of a car going 50 km/h with a bike going 12 km/h—how long would each take to go 5 km?”
- “How could we use this information to decide the most efficient route somewhere farther away?”
- Which is more?: When plating a snacks, arrange them in different ways. This activity helps children develop number sense by making estimates, comparing quantities, and exploring how arrangement affects perception. It can grow into proportional reasoning and understanding percentages.
- Primary Foci
- “Which one looks like it has more? Why do you think that?”
- “What’s another way we could check, besides counting?”
- “Let’s line them up to see if they match.”
- Junior Foci
- “Can you estimate how many are in each bowl before we count?”
- “Do the same number of items always look the same if arranged differently? Why or why not?”
- “If I take 5 from this plate and move it to the other, what happens?”
- Intermediate Foci
- How can we compare amounts quickly using multiplication or grouping?”
- “How many more grapes are in Bowl A than Bowl B? What’s the difference as a percentage?”
- “If we doubled the number in each bowl, would one still look like more? Why or why not?”
- Primary Foci
A Fantastic Resource for Families: SAME BUT DIFFERENT
A powerful tool for encouraging connection-making is Same But Different www.samebutdifferentmath.com
The main concept is about the sharing of two images( e.g.numbers, shapes, or situations) that are similar in some ways but different to each other. The challenge is to identify all the ways they are the same and all the ways they are different from a mathematical perspective. The beauty of "Same But Different" is that there's no single "right" answer. It encourages observation and discussion around the many connections based on properties, relationships, and even real-world applications. This resouce reaches across numeracy, spatial sense, and measurement concepts and strategies for all grade levels, including secondary students, making it a versatile resource.
By making connections a regular part of your conversations, you'll be developing mathematically curious and capable thinkers who see math as a powerful lens for understanding their world.