Bowling, Battleship, Bingo and even painted rocks turned math into a family affair at Polk Central Elementary on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Students from kindergarten through fifth grade returned to school with their families for “Blast Off with Math,” Polk Central’s Title I Family Engagement Math Event. Throughout the evening, classrooms and activity areas were filled with games and challenges designed to put grade-level math skills into action.
Each grade offered something different.
Kindergarten students played Bingo, while first graders explored math through bowling. Second graders used play dough to practice partitioning, and third graders took on “Sakes Alive, Go for Five!”
Fourth graders worked with geoboards to explore geometry. Fifth graders put coordinate planes to use in a game of Battleship.
Families could also tackle visual-spatial challenges and create math-inspired rock paintings.
Behind the games was plenty of intentional learning. Polk Central teachers designed the activities around the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Mathematics, giving students another way to practice classroom concepts while showing families what those skills can look like in action.
The format also put students and family members on the same team – solving problems, trying activities and talking about math together.
The school welcomed a strong turnout of families and friends, along with district staff and school board representatives. Pizza, chips and drinks in the cafeteria gave families another opportunity to spend time together during the evening.
PEAK After School, Polk Central’s Math Team and Title I teams helped sponsor and organize the event, with teachers developing the grade-level activities.
For one evening, math at Polk Central looked a little different, played on bowling lanes and coordinate grids, shaped with play dough and explored by students and families side by side.
