Testing a 60-Minute Hands-On Math Workshop for 9-11 Year Olds: What We’ve Learned (And What Feedback We Need)
Last Thursday, the 3:15pm bell had just blared through the hallways, and I was stacking used snap cubes back into their tub, brushing granola bar crumbs off the table. Three kids lingered by the door, scuffed soccer cleats propped against the cinder block, when Mia raised her hand. Mia, who’d told me at the start of term that math “just isn’t my thing,” asked, “Are we doing the dream bedroom thing again next week?”
I’ve taught Year 5 and 6 for seven years, and the past couple of years I’ve noticed a pattern that bothers me. By the time kids hit 9 or 10, a lot of them have already decided whether they’re “good at math” or not. The ones who decided they’re not check out the second I pull out the textbook worksheets. Last term I did a quick anonymous check-in: 18 out of 28 of my students wrote that math was “only for people who can memorize fast.” I wanted to try something that didn’t fit the usual mold—no test prep, no extra credit, just a weekly 60-minute after-school workshop where we solved math problems that actually mattered to them.
I’ve run three workshops so far, just with my own class, to work out the kinks. The 60-minute breakdown I’ve landed on for now is 10 minutes to introduce the problem (think: plan a class party on a $120 budget, build a scale model of your dream bedroom, work out how many snack boxes you need for a week of camp), 35 minutes of small group work, and 15 minutes at the end for groups to share what they tried and what went wrong. I don’t stand at the front giving instructions; I just roam, answer questions if someone asks, and don’t give away the answer even when they beg.
What’s surprised me most is who’s showing up and leaning in. Javi, who can barely sit through 10 minutes of worksheet math without getting sent to the water fountain to calm down, spent 25 minutes re-calculating the size of his gaming setup last week, when he realized he’d forgotten to leave space for his controller charging station. He redid his perimeter measurements three times without me reminding him once. Mia, who never raises her hand during whole-class math, was the one who figured out that buying chips in bulk for the class party left enough extra money for two extra cartons of ice cream. The whole room cheered when she announced it.
But it’s not all smooth. Leo, who aces every math test I hand him, spent the first 20 minutes of the first workshop asking, “But what’s the right answer we’re supposed to get?” He’s used to math having one clear solution, and it took him almost two full workshops to get comfortable with the fact that there are 10 different good ways to plan a $120 party. The last 10 minutes of the 60-minute block also get tricky. A lot of kids are already tired from a full day of school, and they start packing up early, checking their phones for when their parents are arriving, missing the share time that’s actually one of the most useful parts. I’ve also had a couple of parents tell me their kid was too worn out after the workshop to focus on their regular homework that night.
I’ve already made one small change that helped: I added a 2-minute movement break halfway through the 60 minutes, where everyone can stand up, stretch, or walk around the room for a minute. That cut down on the restlessness a lot. What I’ve learned so far, that any parent or teacher can take away, is that 9-11 year olds will do hard math if the math is about something they care about. You don’t need fancy supplies, either. We use scrap paper, snap cubes I already had in the classroom supply closet, and tape from the front office. If you’re trying something like this at home, stick to problems that come up in their life: how much do you need to save for that new Lego set, how to split the pizza evenly if your cousin comes over, how long it will take to walk to the park if you stop for hot chocolate halfway. It works way better than extra worksheets.
That brings me to why I’m writing this. I’m getting ready to open the workshop up to all Year 5 and 6 students at our school, and I want to get it as right as I can before I send out the sign-up forms. I’m asking both parents and other teachers for your thoughts, because I don’t see everything from my spot in the classroom.
If you’re a parent of a 9-11 year old: Would 60 minutes after school work for your kid, or would a shorter 45-minute block work better? What day of the week works best for after-school activities for your family? Would you want a workshop option that’s focused on helping kids catch up on core math skills, or one that’s more about fun, open-ended projects like the ones I’ve been running? Have you tried any after-school math programs that worked really well, or fell really flat, for your kid?
If you’re a teacher: What topics do you see Year 5 and 6 kids struggle to connect to most, that we could add to the workshop rotation? What would you change about the 60-minute structure I’m using now? Have you tried similar workshops, and what kinks did you have to work out that I haven’t hit yet?
I scribbled Javi’s request for a road trip planning workshop in the margin of my beat-up planner earlier this week, right next to my note about the tired kids and the tricky end-of-block restlessness. I don’t expect this to be perfect. Right now, the biggest win I have is that a handful of kids who thought they hated math are asking to come back every week. That’s a good start, but I know it can work for more kids, more families, if I get input from people who know these kids better than I do. I’m reading every comment and every message, and I’ll test whatever changes make sense over the next couple of months. We’ll adjust as we go.
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