Activate Math!: Using Movement to Spark Engagement and Ignite Learning

Get students excited to learn math with these fun and creative movement-based activities!

Math instruction and physical movement might seem like an unlikely combination, but think about it: For many students, math is the most stressful subject. And research shows that regular physical activity is an effective way to mitigate stress and boost brain power. Movement not only helps students regulate their emotions, but also improves their overall health and strengthens their neural networks. Activate Math! is the resource elementary and middle school teachers need to shake up math instruction’s deskbound status quo and get their students up, moving, and learning with enthusiasm.

In this book, acclaimed educators Suzy Koontz and Kirby Schoephoerster draw on educational psychology to integrate movement-based learning with mathematics concepts. With this approach, students become the manipulatives by hopping on a number grid to solve equations, imitating animal gestures and poses to demonstrate skip-counting, and even dancing through algebra problems.

Each chapter addresses the five catalysts of movement-based instruction:

1. Engage students,
2. Scaffold math concepts,
3. Expand knowledge,
4. Enrich curricula, and
5. Review progress.

The authors also include a comprehensive appendix of activities ready for you to incorporate in the classroom or try outdoors. Activate Math! is a must-read for all K–8 teachers who want to improve their students' math skills and promote a healthy, active classroom environment.

Suzy Koontz is a founding board member and current vice president of the National Math Foundation (NMF) and the creator of Math & Movement. She has spent more than 25 years helping students achieve academic success through a movement-based approach to mathematics and literacy education. As a trained actuary and lifelong advocate for inclusive learning strategies, Suzy has created more than 200 teaching tools that have been adopted by schools nationwide and has authored over 20 books for learners both young and old and has coauthored Activate Math! She actively leads professional development workshops for teachers and administrators across the country to support the implementation of movement-based mathematics and literacy strategies.

Kirby Schoephoerster, EdD, is the senior program director at the National Math Foundation (NMF) and an ardent advocate for the (re)design of educational spaces to foster positive learning identities for all students. Kirby received his doctorate in education at Vanderbilt University. His recent work at the NMF has involved facilitating organizational strategy development, coordinating educational research projects with community partners, and creating professional learning events for mathematics educators and school leaders across the country. Kirby has presented extensively on the topics of movement-based instruction, the science of learning and the brain, professional learning implementation, and the development of positive mathematics attitudes. He is a coauthor of Activate Math!