Memorial Math Students Learn That Time Flies When They’re Having Fun

Valley Stream, New York (December 2021) — Math students at Memorial Junior High School had the opportunity to design their own clocks while learning algebra and expressions.

Late last month, students in Ms. Kelly Leftwich’s and Ms. Stephanie Peace’s seventh-grade classes were tasked with splitting into groups of three, and designing their own clock faces while substituting the numbers one through 12 with expressions and algebra equations.

The idea for the lesson came from a similar clock Ms. Leftwich said she saw on sale in a catalogue. “Instead of buying it, I thought we could have the kids make them,” she said.

The lesson meets state math standards NY-7.EE, and in addition to giving students the opportunity to practice their math lessons, the activity allowed the students to express their creativity while they produced their own unique designs.
“It was great because we got to see their personalities come out in the clocks,” Ms. Peace said.

Some of the designs featured students’ favorite cartoons, comic book heros, or sports team while other students created patterns, landscape imagery or a festive theme.

“The kids really enjoyed it, and I really enjoyed seeing what they were interested in,” Ms. Leftwich said. “They also needed to spend the time to review the equations and make sure the math was correct so the lesson really covered all of the bases.”
For more information about the Valley Stream Central High School District, please visit the District’s website at https://www.vschsd.org/, and ‘like’ our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ValleyStreamCentralHighSchoolDistrict