Get pumped for this jam-packed blog post! First we will look at a fun subtraction dance/song. Then we will see the artful inspiration behind it. Lastly, we'll bring it all together with a lesson to bring into your classroom! Enjoy :)
This Subtraction Dance I found on YouTube, is one of many educational dances/songs that YouTube has to offer! This song is very helpful for 1st,2nd,3rd and up. This is a super fun way to help all students learn the action of regrouping which can be pretty tricky! I believe this also makes math lessons a little more fun and creative! Working towards the whole class collaborating to learn about subtraction is so important.
This videos just one example of the many that I have seen online! Go on YouTube and search, "Subtraction Song" and you'll see tons of videos similar to this. Pick the one you want to model in your classroom and go for it!
This videos just one example of the many that I have seen online! Go on YouTube and search, "Subtraction Song" and you'll see tons of videos similar to this. Pick the one you want to model in your classroom and go for it!
I like the "Numbers the same, Zeros the game" portion of the song especially. I feel that students get stumped by this and that it why this song is great. It also gets the students up and moving. With each movement comes a topic, and the gesture helps the students remember the song and information even better. During a test your student can sing this song to themselves and remember the dance moves in order to help them work through problems. Get your kids up and moving with this song, you can't go wrong!
This song is inspired by a poem that I have seen all over Pinterest! Here is the poem!
Photo Credit: http://subtractionfortheearlyyears.weebly.com/subtraction-poem.html
Math Song and Poem Lesson
By: Alexa Carducci Grades 3 and up! (So many grades can benefit from this lesson!)
Here is a lesson that brings together these two art forms and helps students learn and grow as math learners and poets. Making math exciting with activities such as this or even just the dance can be life changing for your students. Don't let your students be afraid of math anymore, help them sing and dance their way to loving it!
Objective of the lesson: Get students up and moving about to remember the complicated subtraction rules. Then help them create their one poem to turn into a song.
Steps
1. Show the students the fun subtraction poem. Explain what a poem is and the different lyrical elements of a poem. Help them with rhyming and other sounds that come about when making poems. Explain how songs and poems are similar in lyric and formation.
Here is an online resource to help with this:
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072405228/student_view0/poetic_glossary.html
2. Tell students that with the art of poetry they are going to explore this by forming their own poem about a math topic of their choosing. (or you could assign)
3. Let the students brainstorm as a class or individually some topics that can be tricky in math, and write them on the board. Let the students pick the one that is most confusing to them, for as they work through forming a poem they will better learn it.
4. This poem can be tricky to come up with rhyming words so allow yourself as well as the students to use online resources.
5. Encourage students to use their math textbooks to really increase the math content in the poem.
6. After the rough drafts of the poem are written, have students share the poems with a partner to peer edit.
8. *Explain to your students how to find some tunes to pair with their poem and use online resources to help you bring music to their poems.
http://makeyourpoemasong.com- This is a cool resource to try out!
7. Students can then type or write their poem and decorate it and hang it in the classroom. They can also read it to the class or have a poetry night to read it to the school (everyone can benefit from these poems!)
*Optional: Now is the tough/fun part. Attempt to find tunes that would work to make these poems into songs. Increase this with dances and other things to make the songs even more fun!*
**This could also be done in groups. (For older students) Have groups of 4-6 students write a poem, find a tune, then form a dance to remember the topic they were given, and perform it for the class. Video tape these for your future reference for some of the songs maybe very cool. Collaboration is so important so it would really be a great idea to bring ideas together**
***To adapt for various special needs:
ESL: Have the song be sung in multiple languages, or encourage them to sing along for songs are fun ways to learn English/L2s***
Objective of the lesson: Get students up and moving about to remember the complicated subtraction rules. Then help them create their one poem to turn into a song.
Steps
1. Show the students the fun subtraction poem. Explain what a poem is and the different lyrical elements of a poem. Help them with rhyming and other sounds that come about when making poems. Explain how songs and poems are similar in lyric and formation.
Here is an online resource to help with this:
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072405228/student_view0/poetic_glossary.html
2. Tell students that with the art of poetry they are going to explore this by forming their own poem about a math topic of their choosing. (or you could assign)
3. Let the students brainstorm as a class or individually some topics that can be tricky in math, and write them on the board. Let the students pick the one that is most confusing to them, for as they work through forming a poem they will better learn it.
4. This poem can be tricky to come up with rhyming words so allow yourself as well as the students to use online resources.
5. Encourage students to use their math textbooks to really increase the math content in the poem.
6. After the rough drafts of the poem are written, have students share the poems with a partner to peer edit.
8. *Explain to your students how to find some tunes to pair with their poem and use online resources to help you bring music to their poems.
http://makeyourpoemasong.com- This is a cool resource to try out!
7. Students can then type or write their poem and decorate it and hang it in the classroom. They can also read it to the class or have a poetry night to read it to the school (everyone can benefit from these poems!)
*Optional: Now is the tough/fun part. Attempt to find tunes that would work to make these poems into songs. Increase this with dances and other things to make the songs even more fun!*
**This could also be done in groups. (For older students) Have groups of 4-6 students write a poem, find a tune, then form a dance to remember the topic they were given, and perform it for the class. Video tape these for your future reference for some of the songs maybe very cool. Collaboration is so important so it would really be a great idea to bring ideas together**
***To adapt for various special needs:
ESL: Have the song be sung in multiple languages, or encourage them to sing along for songs are fun ways to learn English/L2s***