Math Homework Can Be Fun: Math Help for Teens

Fun Math Activities for Teens

The Benefits

In many high school math classes, students spend a lot of time listening to lessons, taking notes and completing practice problems. Although these activities are an important way for teens to master complex math concepts, they are not much fun. You may want to incorporate some fun math activities into your at-home review sessions to energize and motivate your son or daughter to look at math concepts in a new way.

Cross-Curricular Projects

Sometimes students lose interest in math because it has nothing to do with their real passions, which may lie in other academic subjects, sports or other pursuits. However, you can incorporate math into nearly any subject or topic. When you create cross-curricular math activities for your child, be sure they complement the concepts being taught in school. For example, if your teen is studying geometry, he or she can create a piece of art using geometric shapes or construct a model of a building with angle and line measurements.

Reward System

Although it's best if your child develops an intrinsic (internal) motivation to complete his or her math homework, a little extrinsic (external) motivation can go a long way. Set up a system where your teen receives a reward after finishing his or her homework. The reward could be an hour of free time, an activity or a treat, like his or her favorite dinner. Ideally, this system will benefit your teen in the long run because it will lead him or her to develop an intrinsic motivation for learning and achieving.

Games

Everyone enjoys games, and teenagers are no exception. There are a plethora of free math games on the Internet that your teen will likely enjoy. Alternatively, you can create your own games at home. Competition can motivate even the most stubborn student, so you could create a game where your child can earn points for answering problems correctly. You might even incorporate problems from his or her math homework into the game. That way, your teen can complete his or her work while still having fun.