For most students, 4th grade math worksheets are viewed as a tedious, boring task. If you are looking to engage your math students more effectively, consider finding an alternative to simply handing out math worksheets and leaving the kids to do the work with little help. Here are four ideas to help make worksheets a blast!
1. Choose Worksheets Carefully
No fourth grader wants to spend time staring at a list of math problems. To make math worksheets a blast, consider looking for 4th grade math worksheets that incorporate a puzzle or game into the problems. Not only does this increase interest, but it also provides a measure of self-checking. If the worksheet puzzle is not working out correctly, then the answers are probably incorrect as well.
2. Turn it Into a Game
Play a relay game with your worksheets. Divide the classroom into teams in rows. Then, give them a worksheet to work on independently.
Once everyone is done, ask the first person in the row to share their answer. If they are right, the team receives 10 points. If they are wrong, then check the answers of the rest of the team. Each right answer is a recovery point. Then, switch to the next team, gradually working your way up the row. The team with the most points at the end wins. If you notice any students sharing answers, that team loses 10 points. You will be surprised how much more interest you will get in the 4th grade math worksheets when you turn it into a game.
3. Round Robin Worksheets
For this activity, have every student start with the same worksheet. They do the first problem, then pass it to their left or right, depending on the layout of your classroom. The next student checks the first student’s answer, then solves the next problem, finally passing again.
Play continues until all of the worksheets in the class are complete. The teacher then grabs one at random, grades it and gives the class that grade. If the worksheet does not need to go in the grade book, the problems that were missed on that sheet get sent home as homework for the entire class.
4. Ditch the Worksheet in Favor of Digital Learning
You can cover the same skills without a worksheet if you choose tablet-based math learning opportunities. Tablet-based opportunities let your students explore math on a tablet, rather than a worksheet.
Quality learning apps will use game-like play to ensure that the kids stay involved. This is more interactive than a worksheet, because the app can provide instruction while the student is working, rather than simply grading everything and handing it back to the student to figure out what he did wrong. Consider an app like Thinkster Math that offers instruction at the point of learning.
Whether you ditch 4th grade math worksheets altogether in favor of something digital, incorporate digital learning and worksheets together or focus entirely on worksheets, making the worksheets more fun will result in greater learning. With the help of programs like Thinkster Math, you can turn what is boring into something that is highly anticipated in your classroom.
Improving a love of math and making the worksheets you assign more fun can start at home. Share this guide with your student’s parents to make math and worksheets a blast even afterschool!
