Our school is concerned about improving the math skills of students. As a 5th grade math teacher at a 3-5 grade school, I see first-hand the difficulties students have in applying knowledge when they have not mastered the basic facts. I am particulary anxious about the fluency of our students math skills, due to the changes in our states' math curriculum. Therefore, I would like to lead our school in a program called "Math Madness Month". The purpose of Math Madness is to help students acquire and sharpen their understanding and ability to use the basic skills. When the basics are solid in children's minds, it is far less difficult to teach more sophisticated concepts and to develop skills at a higher level. This effort will involve "Math Wrap-Ups". (Wrap-Ups are a small flat plastic board with numbers printed down the left side, a large functions sign, a number in the center and answers on the right side. Students wrap a string around the board and turn the board over to check their answers.) As students progress, participants will be elgible for a prize drawing each day. Prizes will come from local merchants. We will present students with a certificate and the students and parents will go to the business to accept their gift. This will allow students, parents, the school and the community to show their support and commitment to education. The materials that we need to make this project successful is a "Wrap-Up" for each individual student. We currently have 430 students enrolled and we hope to solidify the basic facts, so students can think about how to apply the basic facts, rather than think about what the basic facts are. Through this project, students will become more confident, better problem solvers and mathmeticians from having participated in "Math Madness Month". THe Wrap-Ups are reusable and we will be able to repeat this project for many years.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. R. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.