I've been enjoying our math articles these past few weeks. They've been giving me great food for thought about mathematizing and approaching math in new ways. I recently received a e-newsletter from Edutopia about math in the classroom, which included information about writing your own math raps. I enjoyed the rap they posted, PEMDAS Boss by Rappin' Mathematician Alex Kajitani, so much that I thought I'd share another one with those of you who follow my blog. This one's called The Number Line Dance. Enjoy!
I don't know if I have what it takes to be a rap master of math, but I'm willing to consider it (or at least use the Rappin' Mathematicians CD ;)). If you want to take a look at the Edutopia resource, visit How to Write Your Own Math Rap. While you're there, look around. Edutopia has tons of fantastic resources!
Engaging students in many ways is very important to having successful students. There are some approaches that used by teachers that make me wonder. Yes, they are creative, different, and not a direct instruction, but what do the students really think of them? This question seems more and more important the older the students get. Raps seem like ways to learn something, but do you think it's more effective in younger students that need help with memorization? Do you think that older students, either middle or high school, would find it engaging? I can see arguments for it being a good approach, but also for students thinking that teachers are trying too hard to be cool. It's a tough call and I'm sure that we'll be able to better evaluate these tools with more exposure and experience.
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