Clayton News Daily

Photo by Jeylin White Haynie Elementary Teacher Brystal Franks gives her third-grade students high-fives for winning the school’s Super Bowl Mathematics competition, on Wednesday.

Walking into the gymnasium at the B.C. Haynie Elementary School this week, was like stepping onto a simulated football field. The theme music for the National Football League (NFL) played in the background. Scores of youngsters were chanting –– back and forth –– at one another, and teachers wore the jersey’s of their favorite NFL teams.

The scene was set for competition Wednesday in Haynie Elementary’ super bowl of mathematics.

Monica Ward, individual education program (IEP) and lead teacher, assumed the role of referee at the event. She said the purpose for the competition was to show students the importance of math, while using fun, interactive methods to keep students’ attention.

“Kids like sports, and this gets students and teachers excited about learning,” said Ward. “It was a very tedious process for putting the event together, but it was worth it.”

Encompassing all grade levels, 720 students competed in the Super Bowl challenge. Each grade level was split into two teams, and had to answer math questions which covered material they had been taught.

Before the championship showdown, however, Haynie Elementary Principal Jeannie Richmond-Lynch, said classrooms had engaged in face-offs against others –– by grade level. Then, the final two teams remaining faced off in the “ultimate” Superbowl math competition.

“This was something that took months, and last week was like the playoffs,” said Richmond-Lynch. “We wanted to make this like a real-life competition.”

She said that, during the “playoffs,” a set of math questions was presented to the individual classrooms. For each question answered correctly, that classroom won a point. That information was put on football posters and displayed in the hallways at the school.

“The teachers were into it, the students were into it ...” said the principal.

Fifth-grader, Kiara Bishop,11, was on the winning team. The youngster agreed with her principal, and confessed that she would much rather be playing a fun game than sitting in class all day, working on “boring” worksheets. “I had fun,” she said, enthusiastically. “Playing fun games really helps me learn and understand better.”

The fifth-grader said she is not normally a fan of math, but of language arts, and, sometimes, it’s hard for her to concentrate on a subject in which she is less interested. Ward said most students share that same perspective, and that she has been working with other teachers to come up with more fun and exciting ways to get students interested in learning math.

Haynie Elementary third-grade teacher, Brystal Franks, has been using some clever ways to teach math to her students. She said, when her students were learning about addition and subtraction, she turned her classroom into a restaurant, and students took on the roles of waiters and waitresses. In another activity, students made paper dolls to teach them about measurements.

“I base everything [math lessons] on real-life experiences,” said Franks. “I want my students to know what goes on in the real world.”

Frank’s methods, though different, have been successful. Her class won the math competition Wednesday. “I’m so very proud of [my students,]” said a beaming Franks. “We worked really hard –– day in and day out. Our goal is long-term learning, and not short-term,” she said. “We want our students to be able to apply what they are learning, in the real world. Our goal is to make math matter.”

Meanwhile, Principal Richmond-Lynch said school officials are already working on next month’s theme: “March Madness,” a reference to college basketball. Stay tuned.