Have you ever had a day when it felt like all of the energy and enthusiasm had been sucked out of your classroom?  I know that there are times when I feel like I am slogging through a math lesson and I am somehow vaguely disconnected from the students.  I am covering the math content standards but the energy in the classroom is low.  I know that I need to escape from the doldrums, if only for a minute or two, and then get back to the lesson after energy has been restored.

With that in mind, here are 7 ways to energize your math class and put your students in a positive frame of mind that will lead to more effective learning:

1)  Do Something Different   (Big Purple Spider)

I have a big purple spider that hangs just under the lights right when you enter my classroom.  It is attached to fishing line that runs around different light poles and attaches to a nail on the other side of my class.  On the second day of school, and at random times throughout the year, I lower the spider in front of unsuspecting students as they enter my class.  Some get scared, some smile, some act as if they never saw it, and a few have even screamed. [Read more…]