Activities should always be delivered as part of the bigger story. They do not stand alone, nor should they be given in isolation.
Show students where their learning fits; use the unit outline to make frequent connections to the main idea and to life!
“The teacher’s task is one of Christian-story telling, of seeking out and helping students to see the story in all”
Dickens et al., 2015, p. 13
While some activities are not explicitly ‘Christian’, it is important to discuss the Biblical worldview behind the activity in the daily rhythm of the classroom. For instance, the activity might:
- Explore beautiful number patterns.
- Provide an opportunity to work in community and learn from each other.
- Reflect that learning is not just ‘head knowledge’ but is holistic and may involve our hands.
- Provide skills that we can use to serve each other.
- Be ‘relaxing’ in its routine.
- Require curiosity, etc…
The teacher outline, student outline, workbook covers, and more explicit activities help provide the language to do this. However, it is important to share your own Christian journey and love for numbers in an authentic way to connect with students.
Note – you can also find many activities in each of the ‘teacher outlines‘.
Without seeing the web of connections, inside and out, students perceive mathematics as an unmanageable mass of disjointed facts needing to be memorized.
Jongsma, 2007, p. 36