UPDATE, September 2017: This post was originally celebrating a special nearing-the-end-of-the-school-year event titled “Move with Math in May. The event featured four math-and-movement lesson plans to chose from. The goal was an opportunity to try out whole-body math in a low-key way to get a sense of what it’s all about…but you can use these lesson plans any time you want! Below you’ll find overviews of and links to each lesson. If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via the contact form. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!!

In this activity, children work collaboratively in teams of three to five (four being an optimal number) to determine the center of a taped ladder-like structure on the floor. Although teams may solve the initial challenge rather quickly, the core mathematical experience is in using space and their bodies as tools for making sense of the challenge as they work to prove that they have found the right location. GO TO THE LESSON

In this activity, created in collaboration with Max Ray-Riek from the Math Forum at NCTM, students work collaboratively in teams of three to five to investigate and construct polygons with their bodies and a twelve-foot knotted rope. Although this lesson attends to regular polygons, the activity has been extended to address learning goals for middle and high school students.  GO TO THE LESSON

Clapping games are a part of the natural mathematics of childhood; they are also filled with pattern, spatial reasoning, and rhythm.  This activity, which can be different every time you play, was developed by John Golden (@mathhombre) with a class of preservice teachers.  GO TO THE LESSON

Have you ever wondered what Math in Your Feet would look and sound like in your classroom? Here is a game-based version of this work, developed in collaboration with wellness teacher Deb Torrance (@Mrs_Torrance), as a way for you to see what math and dance can look like when both are happening at the same time. GO TO THE LESSON.

I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing how things go!

Malke Rosenfeld is a dance teaching artist, author, editor, math explorer, and presenter whose interests focus on the learning that happens at the intersection of math and the moving body. She delights in creating rich environments in which children and adults can explore, make, play, and talk math based on their own questions and inclinations.