Seventh Grade Math Applies Learning Outside the Classroom
Seventh grade students at LMK Middle School learn how math skills apply outside the classroom by engaging in a math lesson designed to explore the world around them. The introductory lesson for the 7th grade math unit on statistics begins with a visit from Greenburgh Nature Center staff to LMK Middle School math classrooms. The nature center team conducts a lesson about the environment that includes individual and group activities to reinforce learning, and provide students with common understanding, knowledge, and vocabulary. The lesson demonstrates how statistics and mathematics are applied in a real world setting and serves as a foundation for the upcoming unit on statistics. Students learned to categorize, applied mathematical equations to calculate things including water use and carbon footprint, and discussed how math applies to their everyday lives. At the end of the visit students share reflections on their learning. Seventh grade math teachers integrate the information students learn when introducing the statistics lesson to demonstrate how math concepts apply beyond the classroom. This interdisciplinary approach aligns with the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program philosophy and learning standards.