Mathematics in Nature
Mathematics exists all around us in the natural world. It is our task to bring our children’s attention to the data and help them see the world around them in a mathematical way.
Although often “appearing more” in nature during early childhood, observing, counting, measuring, collecting data, comparing, and classifying objects are all mathematical concepts that are needed and used throughout middle school, high school, college, and into adulthood. Conservation biologists, wilderness rangers, and researcher professionals all use mathematics in nature on a daily basis for their careers.
The Key to Exploring Mathematics in Nature
So how do we get kids “thinking math” when they are outside exploring nature? It really is easy and doesn’t require many fancy tools. In fact, we find a notebook, pencil, and a ruler are all the tools that we need. The key to exploring mathematics in natures is to:
- Be outside
- Observe
- Think mathematically
- Record data
- Discuss
Take these lizards one of my students found the other day:
Adult: Child:
How many did you catch? Two
How many lizards did you see? There were 5 more we couldn’t catch, and 8 altogether – neat!
Were they all the same size? No, the others were bigger. We caught the small ones.
How small are these? <holds up a thumb to estimate> About 3 inches.
Let’s release them, and sketch them in our journals. Make sure to look closely at the colors and patterns on each lizard so that we can note these in our writing.
In this mini-lesson, we addressed numbers, measurement, and attributes – all math! The students were engaged, motivated, and were literally bursting with excitement to talk about numbers. Their conversations as they began writing turned more scientific in nature, discussing the fact that there were smaller lizards than usual. One child thought it was due to the seasons, another that it had been rainier than usual. They decided to go lizard hunting every day to test their hypothesis.