5 Real-World Holiday Math Activities

Family gatherings, holiday performances, giving thanks—December brings many joys (like winter break!). And as you wrap up 2016 in your classroom, don’t forget that math is everywhere this holiday season.

Case in point: the Rockettes! This year, DynaMath went behind the scenes to see how the iconic dance team uses geometric shapes in their annual holiday performances.

Check out the story and the math lesson on classifying lines and shapes for grades 3, 4, and 5. In addition, your students can access grade-specific homework helpers online and a short video that goes behind the scenes at the Rockettes’ rehearsals.

Beyond the Rockettes, here are five ways you can deck the halls with real-world math lessons this holiday season:

Have your students make a holiday budget for a class party. Encourage them to use tape diagrams to calculate the total cost. And don't forget the cookies!

Does it snow where you live? If so, try using a ruler to record the amount of snowfall in Metric or customary units. Just a dusting? Use the weather forecast as a lesson in fractions or decimals.

Bring in a strand of holiday lights and ask students to list any patterns they see (colors, the number of twinkles each minute, etc).

Ask your students to draw something that reminds them of the holiday season. Then have them identify all the lines of symmetry they can find.

Bring several gift boxes of different sizes to class. Ask your students to predict which box they think has the greatest volume. Then, have them measure the dimensions of each box and calculate the volume.