I do math, math videos and math blogging in the MathShack – an 8′ x 8′ garden shack that we insulated, electrified and air conditioned.

We rednecked the whiteboards from bathroom wall panelling. We made two desks from old doors. And we created a sound stage out of flood lights and shower curtains.

And it’s magical!

Writing is magical – it happens in magical places.

I attended the Blog Elevated conference this weekend and was privileged to hear the closing keynote by Karen Waldron of Chookooloonks.

One of Karen’s many contributions to our world is a community called Where Blogggers Blog. It helps people understand where the magic of blogging happens.

I took a photo of the MathShack to submit it and it got me thinking.

Where does math magic happen for others – especially students?

Math is magical – but is it happening in a magical place?

Part of the math revolution is creating a positive attitude in people regarding math. Where you do something has a super huge impact on how you feel about it.

Which means if your students are in a happy and peaceful location while learning or studying math, they are setting themselves up for positive math-think.

If not, then you might have a problem from the start.

You can find out where your students learn math. And if it’s not a super happy place, you can encourage them to change it.

Help students find a happy place.

Get with the writing teacher and plan a cross curricular assignment. Here’s a starter for the writing assignment:

Your Favorite Place
Describe your favorite place to be. Include as many details as possible. Make sure to include what is on the walls, desks, floors – and use all five senses in describing it. Also describe how it makes you feel to be there and what you do when you’re there.

Modify it to be age appropriate and get the writing teacher to let you help grade the results.

Help students assess their math place.

After a week, give out this writing assignment:

Your Math Study Place
Describe your study area for math. Include as many details as possible. Make sure to include what is on the walls, desks, floors – and use all five senses in describing it. Also describe how it makes you feel to be there and some of the things you do to study when you’re there.

Again, join the writing teacher in assessing these – both by their own merit and as compared with the other assignment.

Encourage students to make the change.

In math class, ask students to look at both of the writing assignments. Help them see what’s missing in their math study place that makes their favorite place so wonderful.

Ask them how their can change their study place to make it more like their favorite place.

If they love the beach – perhaps they can put up beach scenes around their desk at home. And if they work on the kitchen table, have them draw or glue beach scenes on a presentation board to put next to them as they work.

Think outside the house.

They don’t have to just change their study area. They can also move study areas!

If a student’s favorite place is the backyard, encourage them to study there.

If they love the lighting in the bathroom, have them move a small desk in there. (A professional organizer did this with a teenage client once and it worked wonders!)

Share…

Let us know where your students end up. Share their stories in the comments and include links to photos if you can!

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