10 Steps to Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons
Wondering how to create math lessons that are both effective and engaging?
As teachers, we want our students to learn the math concepts we are teaching but we also want them to be interested, involved, and willing to participate in the learning process.
Teachers spend a lot of time carefully planning an academically rigorous math lesson and want students to feel connected to the math they’re learning in order to help students build a better understanding of mathematics.
So how can teachers create math lessons that support learning and encourage students to participate, think critically, explain their thinking, and stay engaged in the math they are learning?
One place to start is by intentionally planning for effective and engaging math lessons that can positively influence student engagement.
Research on mathematics instruction continues to emphasize the importance of meaningful student participation, mathematical discussion, visual and concrete representations, and opportunities for students to explain their thinking.
Over the years, I found that there were several simple strategies I could intentionally incorporate into my math lessons to make learning more engaging for my students and positively influence student success.
I call these strategies my 10 Steps to Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons.
Download the Free 10 Steps to Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons Guide
These ten steps can serve as a practical checklist when planning an effective and engaging math lesson. You can incorporate every step into your math lesson or you can think about which strategies make sense for the particular math concept, your students, and your lesson goals.
Let’s take a look at the ten steps to create effective and engaging math lessons!
Step 1: Consider Your Math Mindset
A teacher’s mindset and attitude toward mathematics can also influence student learning.
Educational research shows that a teacher’s mindset, attitude, and conceptions about math influence children’s confidence and ability in learning math concepts.
Before teaching a math concept, it can be helpful to think about your own confidence with that particular concept.
Are you comfortable explaining it?
Do you understand the different strategies students might use?
Can you anticipate where students might struggle?
If you recognize that you need a refresher, take the time to prepare before teaching the lesson.
You might:
- Review educational texts or curriculum materials
- Watch professional learning videos about the math concept
- Review different strategies for solving the problem
- Prepare manipulatives and visual models
- Organize your lesson materials in advance
- Mentally rehearse how you will introduce and explain the concept
- Think about the most important ideas students need to understand
- Reflect on what worked or didn’t work the last time you taught the concept
- Discuss with other teachers what strategies they use to teach the math concept
One of my favorite preparation strategies is mental rehearsal.
Before teaching, it’s helpful to think through the lesson in your mind.
What will I say?
How will I model?
What might students misunderstand?
Students might ask what types of questions?
What will I do if students need additional support?
Thinking through these questions prior to teaching the math lesson can help you feel more prepared and confident when you teach the lesson to students.
When the teacher is confident in teaching a particular math lesson, that confidence can positively influence student learning.
Try This
Before your next math lesson, take a few minutes to ask yourself:
“How confident do I feel teaching this particular math concept?”
If your answer is “not very confident,” don’t ignore that feeling.
Use it as a signal to prepare, review, and strengthen your own understanding before the lesson begins.
It is necessary for a teacher to reflect on their mindset about teaching a math concept because a teacher’s mindset about math can influence student learning.
Read more about how a teacher’s math mindset matters.
Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons Step 2: Manage Your Math Lesson Time
Effective and engaging math lessons also require thoughtful time management.
There is more to time management than simply deciding how many minutes a lesson will last.
Teachers need to think about the time required to:
- Plan the lesson
- Prepare materials
- Introduce the concept
- Model the skill
- Allow students to explore
- Provide guided practice
- Provide independent practice
- Assess student understanding
- Review or reteach as needed
When planning a math unit, I found it helpful to look at the entire unit calendar rather than thinking about one lesson at a time.
This provided a visual outline of when concepts needed to be introduced, practiced, reviewed, and assessed.
It also helped me anticipate which concepts might require additional time to teach my students.
Ask yourself:
Will students understand this concept in one lesson?
Will they need several days of practice?
Does this skill require prerequisite knowledge that needs to be reviewed first?
Will students need additional guided practice?
How much time will I need to prepare the materials?
Planning this way can help prevent the common problem of trying to rush through an important math concept simply because there isn’t enough time left in the lesson.
Good time management also helps create a lesson that feels organized and purposeful to students.
Try This
Before teaching your next math unit, look at the entire unit calendar.
Identify the concepts that may require:
- More instructional time
- Additional practice
- Review of prerequisite skills
- Small-group instruction
- Additional assessment
Then plan your lesson sequence accordingly.
Identify the components of each lesson and reflect on:
- If any prerequisite skills need to be reviewed and how long that may need
- How long it may take to model the math concept and skill
- How much time will be spent explicitly teaching the concept
- The duration of time students will have to independently practice the math concept and skill
- How many minutes will be needed for small-group instruction
- How much time will students need to demonstrate their understanding through assessment
When teachers utilize time effectively to plan and implement a math lesson, students can be more engaged because the lesson is well prepared and carefully structured in a way that focuses on student engagement and learning.
Learn more about using your time management skills to plan a math lesson here.
Step 3: Make Math Relatable
Research shows that when students can relate to their math learning, they are more engaged, which can positively influence student achievement.
One way to make math more engaging is to help students connect the math they are learning to things they already know, enjoy, or experience in their everyday lives.
When students can see a connection between a math concept and something that is familiar to them, the math can feel more meaningful.
I would often introduce a math concept by creating and reading aloud a word problem that I knew my students could relate to and be interested in at the time.
For example, some of the topics I used included:
- Video games
- Movies
- Sporting events
- Books
- Food
- Students’ names
- School events
- Familiar places or town names
Instead of presenting a math problem as simply another exercise to complete, I could make the problem feel connected to something students recognized.
For example, I could create a problem involving cupcakes, cookies, a favorite sport, or a school event.
Connecting math to familiar experiences can also provide students with a context for thinking about what the numbers and operations actually mean and how they are used in real world scenarios.
Real-life contexts and concrete examples are also recommended as ways to help students make sense of mathematical ideas.
Try This
Before your next math lesson, think about what your students are interested in right now.
Then create one word problem that incorporates one of those interests.
The goal isn’t to make every math problem entertaining. It’s to give students opportunities to see that math exists beyond the worksheet or textbook.
When students can relate to the math concepts they are learning, they develop a better understanding of when the math would be used in the real world.
Step 4: Make Math Hands-On
Another way to create effective and engaging math lessons is to provide opportunities for students to learn math concepts through hands-on learning experiences.
Math can sometimes feel abstract and difficult to understand, especially when students are expected to work primarily with numbers and symbols.
Hands-on materials can give students something concrete to see, touch, move, and manipulate as they develop an understanding of a mathematical concept.
Some materials you can use to make math a hands-on learning experience include:
- Manipulatives
- Cubes
- Blocks
- Counters
- Cars
- Small classroom supplies such as pencils, books, markers, etc.
- Pictures
- Real-life objects
- Number lines
- Other classroom materials such as whiteboards
You don’t necessarily need expensive math manipulatives to create a hands-on experience.
When I taught math, I would often use markers, crayons, books, food, games, and other classroom materials during mini-lessons to model real-life math examples.
If I didn’t have access to a particular object, I could print a picture of it.
For example, I would print pictures of cupcakes and cookies to model multiplication and division.
I would also use pictures of animals to help students model mathematical ideas such as the commutative property of addition.
My students loved being able to use pictures and classroom materials to represent the math they were learning.
Hands-on and visual representations can be especially helpful when students are developing an understanding of abstract mathematical concepts.
Try This
Look at your next math lesson and ask:
“What could my students see, touch, move, draw, or manipulate to help them understand this concept?“
You may discover that you already have many of the materials you need right in your classroom.
Research shows that many students benefit from using hands-on learning experiences, so let’s try to provide those experiences to help students better understand the math they’re learning. .
Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons Step 5: Incorporate Movement
Another effective way to make math more engaging is to incorporate movement into the learning experience.
Educational research shows that incorporating movement into classroom learning experiences is a great way to positively influence student achievement.
Students don’t always need to remain seated in the same place for an entire math lesson.
Movement can be incorporated in simple ways, including:
- A song related to the math concept
- Hand gestures or motions
- A math sing-along
- Movement-based math centers
- A classroom scavenger hunt
- Math task cards placed around the room
- Moving to different stations to solve problems
One activity my students particularly enjoyed was participating in math centers and math scavenger hunts that encouraged students to move around the classroom.
Task cards and scavenger hunts could be placed around the classroom, and students could move from one location to another while solving math problems.
This provided an opportunity for students to be active while continuing to practice their math skills.
Movement doesn’t have to be complicated.
Sometimes simply changing where students work or how they interact with the math can provide a welcome change in the lesson.
Try This
Take one activity from your next math lesson and ask:
“How can I encourage students to move around the classroom while completing this activity?”
You might turn a traditional practice activity into a scavenger hunt, movement based math center, or station activity.
Increasing student movement during math lessons can certainly make math fun and engaging and can positively influence student learning of math concepts.
Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons Step 6: Provide Student Choice
Another simple way to create effective and engaging math lessons is to provide opportunities for student choice.
Giving students different choices can provide them with a greater sense of ownership over their learning.
Research shows
Teachers can establish the learning goal and provide students with different choices within the lesson.
For example, students might choose:
- Which math manipulative to use
- Whether to solve a problem on a whiteboard, in a workbook, or with technology
- Which strategy they want to use to solve a math problem
- Which math activity to complete after the required work is finished
One strategy I particularly liked to incorporate to provide student choice was using a “Must Do” and “May Do” structure.
The Must Do activity established the required learning task for the lesson.
The May Do activities provided students with choices for additional math practice or enrichment after completing the required work.
For example, the current math lesson could be the Must Do, while several math centers could be available as May Do choices.
This approach provides structure within the math lesson while still giving students some control over how they spend their learning time.
Try This
Look at your next math lesson and identify one place where students could have a meaningful choice.
It might be as simple as choosing between two math manipulatives or deciding whether to show their thinking on a whiteboard or in their notebook.
Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons Step 7: Use Student Examples
Students can develop a better understanding of math concepts and strategies from seeing and hearing how other students think about mathematics.
Educational research shows that peer review opportunities can have a significant influence on student engagement and academic achievement.
Providing opportunities for students to share their mathematical thinking allows the class to hear and see different strategies, approaches, and ways of solving a problem.
Mathematical discussion and student-to-student explanations are important components of effective math instruction because they give students opportunities to communicate, compare, and examine mathematical thinking.
There are many simple ways to incorporate student examples into a math lesson.
Students can:
- Share with a partner
- Discuss their thinking in small groups
- Share their work with the class
- Explain the steps they used to solve a problem
- Model a strategy on the board
- Show their work using a document camera
My students often enjoyed coming to the board to model how they solved a math problem.
They also enjoyed sharing work from their math workbooks and explaining their thinking to the class by using a document camera.
Sometimes, however, students can be reluctant to volunteer.
One strategy I used was a fun interactive ball that I would toss back and forth with students while they shared their thinking.
When students saw the sharing ball come out, I often had more volunteers ready to participate.
Who doesn’t like a quick game of toss in the middle of math class?
Try This
During your next lesson, don’t just ask:
“What’s the answer?”
Also ask students:
“How did you solve it?”
“Why did you choose that strategy?”
“Can someone explain another way to solve it?”
These questions shift the focus from simply getting an answer to encouraging students to share their mathematical thinking with their peers in the class.
Step 8: Plan for Math Vocabulary
Math vocabulary is another important part of creating effective and engaging math lessons.
Students need to understand the words and language used to explain mathematical concepts.
Students can be more engaged in a math lesson when they have a better understanding of the mathematical words and terminology.
That’s why it can be helpful to identify the important math vocabulary students will encounter before beginning a new unit or lesson.
Once you identify the vocabulary, think about how you can make those words easier for students to understand and remember.
You might use:
- Math songs
- Gestures and movements
- Pictures
- Visual math models
- Real-life examples
- Student-friendly definitions
- A math word wall
- Vocabulary cards or word rings
- Anchor charts
My students loved it when I incorporated catchy songs into lessons involving new math concepts and vocabulary.
I would also look for opportunities to use hand gestures and movements that helped reinforce the meaning of the words.
Visuals, pictures, math models, and real-life examples can also give students another way to understand unfamiliar mathematical vocabulary.
It’s also helpful to give students access to math vocabulary throughout the school year.
This might be through a:
- Math word wall
- Math vocabulary word ring
- Binder of math anchor charts
- Student math reference sheet
Try This
Before teaching your next math lesson, choose three to five important math vocabulary words students will need to learn to understand the math concept.
Then decide:
How will students see, hear, and use the math vocabulary terms?
When you intentionally incorporate vocabulary terms into the math lesson, the more opportunities students have to use the language of mathematics.
Helping students develop a better understanding of the vocabulary terms used during a math lesson can help increase student engagement and student learning.
Step 9: Differentiate the Math Lesson
Every classroom includes students with different strengths, experiences, needs, and levels of understanding.
That means one approach may not work equally well for every student.
Differentiation doesn’t have to mean creating an entirely different lesson for every child.
Instead, you can build different types of support into the lesson.
For example, to differentiate a math lesson for your students you can provide:
- Different hands-on manipulatives
- Visual math models
- Drawings
- Number lines
- Counters
- Cubes or blocks
- Whiteboards
- Read-aloud support for word problems
- Problem-solving strategies
- Worked examples
- Small-group guided practice
Some students may need additional modeling and extra practice with examples.
Others may benefit from a visual representation.
Some students may need extra guided practice before working independently.
And some students may be ready for an additional challenge.
The goal is to provide students with the support they need to access and understand the mathematical concept.
Try This
Before your next math lesson, ask:
“What might make this concept difficult for some of my students?”
Then choose one or two supports you can have ready before the lesson begins.
Planning for those needs in advance can make differentiation feel much more manageable.
Not only does differentiation in a math lesson help meet the different learning needs of students, but it can also increase student engagement and student achievement.
Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons Step 10: Assess Student Understanding
Finally, it’s important to incorporate effective and engaging methods of assessment during a math lesson.
Assessment doesn’t always have to mean giving students a formal math test or quiz.
Some of the most useful assessment information can come from quick checks for understanding during the lesson.
One strategy I enjoyed using for quick assessment during math lessons was utilizing dry erase whiteboards.
The white boards can be used as assessment during and at the end of a math lesson.
Students can use their whiteboards to solve problems, show their thinking, or quickly communicate how well they understood a concept.
Students can use the whiteboards to reflect on their own understanding of a math concept that is taught and use a simple 1–5 level of understanding scale to communicate:
1 — “I don’t understand. I need help.”
2 — “I’m starting to understand, but I need more practice.”
3 — “I can solve it with an example.”
4 — “I can solve it independently.”
5 — “I feel confident enough to teach someone else.”
Students could hold up their whiteboards so I could quickly see how they were feeling about the students understanding the math concept they were learning.
Another simple engaging form of assessment was to have students draw on their whiteboard a:
☹️ Frown face — “I need more help.”
🙂 Smile face — “I understand and can work independently.”
I could then use the drawings and levels of understanding to decide which students needed additional support or small group instruction.
Students can also solve a problem independently and the teacher can walk around the classroom to quickly see student answers to determine which students understand the math concept and which students need extra practice.
Formative assessment is particularly valuable when teachers use the information to determine what students understand and what they need next.
Try This
At the end of your next math lesson, don’t simply ask:
“Does everyone understand?”
Instead, give students a way to show you what they understand.
Using a whiteboard, quick problem, drawing, thumbs-up/down, rating scale, or another brief check for understanding is an effective and engaging way to take assessment.
The information you collect can help determine what happens next in the math lesson and for future math lessons.
Bringing the 10 Steps Together
Think of these ten steps to create effective and engaging math lessons as a planning framework.
Before teaching a math lesson, consider:
- Math Mindset — How prepared and confident am I with this math concept?
- Time Management — How much time will students need to learn and practice this concept?
- Relatable Math Content— Can students connect this math to something familiar?
- Hands-On Math Learning— What can students see, touch, move, or manipulate?
- Incorporate Movement — Is there an opportunity to incorporate movement?
- Student Choice — Where can students make an independent choice?
- Student Examples — How will students share and explain their mathematical thinking?
- Math Vocabulary — What words do students need to understand and use?
- Differentiated Math — What supports will different students need?
- Math Assessment — How will I know what students understand?
By incorporating these ten steps you can begin intentionally planning for effective and engaging math lessons rather than hoping students will be engaged during the lesson.
Final Thoughts
Effective math instruction and student engagement don’t have to be separate goals.
Teachers can create effective and engaging math lessons by intentionally build their confidence around a math concept, create opportunities for students to connect with math, use hands-on materials, incorporate opportunities for students to move, make choices, share their thinking, develop mathematical vocabulary, provide differentiation,carefully use instructional time wisely, and assess student understanding
By doing so, students can become actively involved in their learning.
The goal is to create math lessons in which students have meaningful opportunities to think, participate, communicate, explore, and confidently learn mathematics.
These ten steps are a starting point.
Use them as a checklist when planning your next math lesson and choose the strategies that make the most sense for your students and your learning goal.
Want a Simple Guide to the 10 Steps to Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons?
You don’t have to remember all ten strategies on your own.
I’ve created a free guide to the 10 Steps to Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons that you can use as a planning reference.
Download the guide and use it when planning your next math lesson to help you intentionally build opportunities for student engagement and mathematical learning.
Download the Free 10 Steps to Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons Guide
Then start with one step and try it in your next math lesson.
Small changes in how we plan and structure math learning experiences can create new opportunities for students to participate, think, and engage with mathematics.