Math

Alignment Nashville’s Math A-Team, composed of MNPS staff and community members, worked to make math more accessible for students and their families by shifting mindsets about what it means to be good at math.

All children are born with the ability to learn math. The only thing they need is an environment where math is talked about! Communication about numbers and shapes with a child positively impacts their understanding of foundational math skills. Every moment of math talk reinforces important pathways in a child’s brain.

‍Summer Math Passport Challenge The primary focus of the Math A-Team was the creation of the Summer Math Passport Challenge. This travel-based game, which lasted for two seasons, provided families with the opportunity to explore the relevance of math outside classroom while having fun! Early math skills develop at home and anywhere that young children and adults have opportunities to play and learn together. Early math skills can develop at home while doing chores or cooking, playing at the park, during a trip to the supermarket, or even at the bus stop. When home-based math activities are implemented by parents with their children, there is a high chance (84% likelihood) that children’s school-based math skills will improve.All a family needs to participate in this Summer Challenge is a Passport and an Activity Sheet!  The passports have a page for each of the five locations a student will visit to complete the challenge.  A playground passport might ask them to create a bar graph to illustrate the number of stairs, slides and ladders that are present.  A grocery store passport will showcase the basic math necessary to shop and cook.  Sites unique to Nashville, like our many wall murals, can be a source of basic geometry questions.  If there are travel restraints, families are welcome to use the internet to answer location questions.  For example, the math activity sheet for ‘Wall Murals’ includes the link to a Nashville tourism site that shares pictures of the city’s famous street art.

If you would like to implement the Challenge in your school or out-of-school time program, CLICK HERE to download a complete toolkit of resources and materials!

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