How to Make Math Fun and Engaging for Students in School

One of the most common questions that comes up about teaching math is, of course, how to make math fun. Math can seem rigid—right or wrong, black and white—which might appear to limit the flexibility needed for a student-centered approach. So how do we transform traditional math lessons into an engaging, hands-on experience that emphasizes real-world applications and keeps students’ interest high?

Why Starting Early with Student-Centered Math Works

Introducing student-centered math early in a child’s education can significantly enhance their confidence and interest in math. Young learners are naturally curious and enjoy discovering how things work, so engaging them in math concepts through hands-on activities and interactive learning sets a solid foundation for critical thinking. By starting student-centered math in elementary school, we encourage students to see math as a subject where they can ask questions, experiment with solutions, and find answers collaboratively.

This approach helps them develop a positive attitude toward math and view it as a creative and dynamic field rather than a series of rigid right-or-wrong answers.

In addition, early exposure to collaborative and interactive math prepares students for more complex mathematical concepts they will encounter in middle and high school. With this foundation, they’re more likely to view math challenges as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles. These students are also more receptive to working with abstract math, as they have already built a strong connection to real-world applications and problem-solving techniques. Adapting these strategies across all grade levels ensures a consistent, engaging learning experience and nurtures a generation of students who are confident in their math abilities.

Getting Creative with Math Concepts

Creativity in math is about encouraging students to think beyond rote memorization and explore mathematical concepts with curiosity and openness. For instance, in a flipped classroom, students can review introductory videos or resources on math basics at home, allowing them to enter class ready to dive deeper into collaborative problem-solving. In the classroom, teachers can guide students through projects that emphasize real-life applications—such as designing a blueprint for a mini-garden to apply concepts of area and perimeter.

By working in groups on projects like these, students gain a hands-on understanding of math as a tool for solving real-world challenges, making the learning experience more memorable and enjoyable.

This approach also allows for the integration of open-ended questions and inquiry-based learning. When students have the opportunity to brainstorm multiple ways to approach a problem, they’re encouraged to think critically and creatively, which are key components of strong problem-solving skills. The freedom to explore diverse solutions helps students build confidence and resilience, ensuring that they’re not just learning math concepts, but also developing skills that will serve them in various aspects of life.

How to Make Math Fun? Hands-On Resources.

Hands-on resources provide students with interactive, engaging ways to practice math skills. For younger students, manipulatives like counting blocks, fraction tiles, and geometric shape sets allow them to visualize abstract concepts, helping to bridge the gap between numbers and real-world objects. Incorporating games, such as Math Bingo or Math Tic-Tac-Toe, transforms practice into a playful experience where students can solidify basic math facts, sharpen mental math, and increase their comfort with solving math problems quickly.

Online resources like Prodigy and Education.com provide further interactive options, with math-related apps, activities, and games that make learning accessible for different learning styles and grade levels. For instance, Prodigy uses a fantasy game setting to immerse students in math challenges, while Education.com offers a range of printable worksheets, hands-on activities, and interactive games that can be tailored to individual or group work.

By introducing a variety of tools, teachers can cater to students’ unique preferences, encouraging an inclusive learning environment where math is seen as both enjoyable and rewarding. Hands-on resources thus become an essential tool in making math engaging and relevant for students of all ages.

Building Engagement Through Math Stations and Rotations

Below is a contribution from guest blogger Kelcee Calloura, who ROCKS math stations in her elementary classroom.

I want to talk to you about student-centered math stations in the classroom and especially focus on how to make this possible when you have a short window of teaching time. Believe it or not, it is possible to implement it into your daily routine and create ways to teach student-centered math.

There is a lot of thought about whether or not you can really create an environment conducive to student-centered math when you have such a short period of time each day. The fear is always that you will spend too much time trying to get the students organized and not enough learning will take place in order to fulfill the requirements of the curriculum. This simply is not the case. Here is a look at what I do in my classroom room Monday-Thursday; our Friday is enrichment or intervention day.

A Schedule for Teaching Student-Centered Math

Before stations can be established, students are placed in one of three groups; high, middle, or lower (they do not which group; only the teacher should know). This year I am fortunate to have a small number of students so I only have three groups per class. But, in years past I have had at least 30 plus students, and these rotations still work. It is simply a matter of planning out what you have and making sure your students are where they will have the most success. 

It is also important to follow along with their data and move them around to different groups with different students when it is deemed necessary to keep the students challenged, but also make sure that they are learning the best. This is what truly makes it student-centered math. While there is some debate about grouping, as discussed in this article from Engaging Maths, keeping up with your student’s achievements and resetting them as necessary, making sure that they are consistently challenged and improving.

I use MATH KATS to name our stations and to tell the students what they are working on for each station. This is just a fun spin I put on our school mascot, the “Bearkats”, and my kiddos enjoy knowing that when it is MATH KATS time, we will be moving around our rotations. This was an easy way to get them excited to buy into student-centered math.

In my current classroom setup for teaching student-centered math, I teach two groups of students for 50 minutes each class period. This has been the easiest way to see all of my kids every day. Depending on what activity they are doing I can see how they are performing when I am not in front of them. I try to make it so each station follows the following criteria so there is a mixture of elements that benefit each student’s individual learning strengths (and also allow them to work on their areas of weaknesses). These include:

1.  Kinesthetic- Hands-on, manipulative, game, task cards
2.  Application- Focus TEK or Topic for the day, independent work
3.  Technology- a Computer game, interactive Smartboard, Quizizz, (a Student-Centered World favorite!), Boom Cards, Quizlet, Google Classroom, Education.com, Math Antics (only $20.00 for a whole year subscription)
4.  Small-Group- Meet with Teacher (I usually use curriculum lessons (Envision) with the help of DOK leveled questions)

I take about 3-5 minutes in the morning before the stations start to explain to my students what each station is about and what to do with it. This way, if there are any questions ahead of time or clarifications that are needed, they can be asked so the entire class has the same clarification. This adds an element of teaching student-centered math because it lessens the chance of a student who is off on their own not completing a task as assigned because they do not understand the directions. It also limits interruptions to small group instruction. 

In theory, if just a small handful of students don’t fully understand the directions, other students can help them (adding even more to the concept of the student-centered math model). Whereas if they were off on their own to understand the directions, the scale might tip in the other direction instead, making the station activity ineffective. 

To help even further, each group has the same directions I have given before stations started in writing in case a student is unsure or doesn’t quite remember what was discussed. It takes a bit of planning beforehand, but it helps to make sure the day’s activities go smoothly once they are executed.

My students rotate through each station every 10-15 minutes depending on who needs more or less time. I do not spend as much time with my high students as I do with my middle or lower, but with these stations, you see your high students every day, so you can add enrichment to your lessons for those students. 

Again, it is imperative to follow along with the data that each student is individually giving to make sure that they are grouped appropriately and that each is receiving the most beneficial time that they need to truly grasp the material they are tasked with at that particular station.

Along with my lessons, I like to use DOK-level questions: Click here for a free download! These provide students with differentiated questions that can go with any lesson and grade level.

If you have class sizes that have more groups here is an example of a teacher who has five stations that work with a larger class size. I love how she added “Review Skills” to her stations.

One of the reasons I love these rotations is that they are all student-centered. You can adapt them to any subject or grade level. They can be easily changed to fit your teaching style and what your students need. That is the beauty of student-centered math.

For fun, I use Bitmojis quite a bit in my classroom to add some flair to station names too.

There are so many ways to make student-centered math work in your classroom. It just takes planning and preparation, but it is well worth it in the end.

Thanks, Kelcee!

Incorporating Real-World Applications

Integrating real-world applications into math lessons helps bridge the gap between abstract math concepts and practical, everyday use. For instance, students can take part in a “home improvement project” where they calculate areas and perimeters to plan out a room’s layout or flooring needs. By using measurements and calculations to make design choices, students engage in geometry and measurement in a hands-on way.

Real-life math scenarios can also involve planning trips, where students research distances, travel times, and budgets, giving them a chance to apply division, multiplication, and percentage calculations.

Another engaging activity is organizing a mock business. Students can brainstorm products, calculate production costs, set prices, and track profits or losses. This business simulation allows students to work with percentages, decimals, and basic algebraic expressions, making these skills relevant to a real-world setting. For older students, delve into concepts like interest rates by using real-world finance tools, such as calculating simple and compound interest on loans or savings.

Incorporating these real-life examples not only shows students the relevance of math in their daily lives but also provides them with practical skills. When students experience math as an essential tool for solving everyday challenges, their interest in and attitude toward math improve significantly.

Collaborative Math Games to Make Math Fun

Using collaborative games in math class helps students see math as an enjoyable and interactive subject. Beyond just competing for correct answers, games also build teamwork and communication skills. Games like “Math Racer“, “Math Jeopardy” or “Fraction War” allow students to reinforce math concepts while engaging in friendly competition. In “Math Jeopardy,” students work in small groups to answer questions of varying difficulty, earning points and strategizing together, which makes it a fun way to review various mathematical concepts.

“Card games” tailored to math, like “Math Uno,” where students match cards based on mathematical operations or multiples, create excitement while building quick recall skills. “Math Bingo” is a versatile game that can be adjusted for addition, subtraction, multiplication, or fractions. Students get excited as they compete to complete a row or column on their bingo card with correct answers.

Games like “Multiplication Find Four” or “Decimal Dominoes” are a great way to reinforce concepts in a hands-on, collaborative environment. Integrating games that connect math with favorite pastimes, like board games or video games, can increase student engagement and help them develop a positive attitude toward learning.

Building a Growth Mindset in Math

Instilling a growth mindset in math is essential for helping students overcome challenges and stay motivated. Teach students that intelligence and skills can grow with effort and persistence by reinforcing phrases like “not yet” instead of “I can’t.” When students understand that struggling with a new math concept is part of the learning process, they’re less likely to feel discouraged. Teachers can encourage this by celebrating small wins and progress, not just the correct answer.

Incorporating reflective activities, such as math journals, allows students to track their growth and identify areas they’ve improved, which builds their confidence and sense of accomplishment.

Using open-ended questions in math class also helps cultivate a growth mindset. For example, instead of asking for the answer to a problem, try asking, “What strategies could you use to solve this?” This approach encourages students to think critically, explore multiple solutions, and focus on the process rather than just the outcome. Acknowledging effort, resilience, and creative problem-solving as part of assessments further reinforces that learning is about growth. By fostering a mindset that sees challenges as opportunities, students become more resilient and motivated to tackle increasingly complex mathematical concepts.

Flexible Lesson Plans to Meet Students’ Needs

Creating flexible lesson plans that cater to diverse needs allows students to learn math in ways that best suit their strengths. For instance, incorporating math centers or stations provides a range of activities—like hands-on manipulatives, technology-based tasks, or partner problem-solving—that students can rotate through, engaging them in different aspects of the lesson. This structure allows teachers to work with small groups on targeted skills, ensuring that each student receives individualized attention.

Differentiating instruction within the same lesson is also important. In a unit on fractions, for example, advanced students might work on word problems involving fractions in real-life contexts, like recipes, while others focus on mastering fraction equivalency using visual aids. Teachers can also incorporate self-paced learning resources, like math-related apps or video tutorials, which allow students to review or preview material at their own speed.

Flexible lesson plans also include a variety of assessment methods to accommodate different learning styles. Offering options like math journals, creative projects, group presentations, or traditional tests allows students to demonstrate understanding in ways that resonate with them. By recognizing that students learn in unique ways, teachers can create a learning environment that is inclusive, engaging, and responsive to each student’s needs, supporting their learning journey every step of the way.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re a kindergarten teacher introducing young learners to basic math skills, or a middle school math teacher guiding students through abstract mathematical concepts, making math fun and engaging is achievable with the right approach. Using collaborative games, real-life examples, hands-on activities, and creative ways to present math lessons fosters a positive attitude toward the subject and enhances the learning journey for students of all ages.

By incorporating these strategies, you’ll create a math classroom that’s both student-centered and a favorite subject for your students! The good news? With preparation and thoughtful lesson planning, you can transform math into a fun, engaging, and enriching experience that resonates with students far beyond the classroom.

This article was originally published on December 3, 2018.