Second-Grade Math Projects
A solid foundation in mathematical principles is key to navigating basics that everyone deals with on a regular basis. Math is fundamental in saving and spending money and figuring out distance and weight, and so much more. Teaching basic concepts to second-grade students means teaching interactive activities that will help students "see" the results of math fundamentals.
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Paper Cup Tower
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Line up six paper cups. Ask students to count them and make note of the number on paper. Ask them how many cups would go on top of the six to make another layer. Make the next layer five cups. Ask students to count and make note of the number, as in 6 + 5. Create another layer of four cups and have students add this to their numbers: 6 + 5 + 4. Tell them it takes 21 paper cups to make this tower. Have students figure out how many more cups and how many more layers it will take to complete the tower. Tell them to add up the cups already layered and subtract from 21. Pair up the students and have each pair do the experiment on their own.
Falling Leaves
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Glue felt to a cardboard backing. Make a felt tree and any number of leaves. Make these for each second-grade student. Have them do math using their felt boards. Start with all the leaves on the tree. Talk about autumn and how leaves turn colors and fall to the ground. Ask the students to count the leaves on their trees. Tell them, "Two fell to the ground during the night. Now how many leaves are left?" Allow students time to figure it out. Show on the board how this looks with numbers, such as 15 - 2 = 13. Have students write down the equation after you do more leaf subtraction. Students will begin to comprehend how the equations and the subtraction of the leaves reference the same principle.
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Making Lunch
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Teach students about the measurements of a teaspoon, tablespoon, cup, pint, quart, etc. Show them 2 pints of milk and 1 quart of milk. Provide cups, spreaders, peanut butter, jelly and bread. Also provide measuring spoons and cups. Have students make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches using the measurements. Give them a recipe to follow, such as 1 tablespoon peanut butter and 2 teaspoons of jelly, etc. Have them measure the milk with measuring cups and pour it into paper cups. Explain that math helps us with food preparation and in making cake and cookies and other good things. As a class, enjoy the snack made by the students. (Ask if the students have food allergies. If so, substitute other ingredients.)
Story Time
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Tell your students a story using math. Ask them to listen closely as you tell the story. "Once there was a little girl named Cindy. She had a cute little white girl dog named Star. Across the street her friend, Jack, had a black male dog he called Midnight. Cindy and Jack liked to play together. They swung on the swings and played baseball. Midnight and Cindy liked each other very much. One day Cindy had puppies. Two of the puppies were black, three of the puppies were white and one was a mixture of black and white. How many puppies did Cindy have?" Show the students how to add the numbers on the board: 2 + 3 + 1 = 6 puppies. You can create other story problems to show practical applications for using math.
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References
- Photo Credit math image by jaddingt from Fotolia.com
