Motivational activities and ideas for attitude improvement among grade school children in the area of mathematics : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

When children in today's society are introduced into the life long process of mathematics unfortunately it is not looked at with an excited point of view. Children see the world of math through their parents, teachers, and working society around them. Many times in life they will hear people say "Oh, I hated math as a child," or " Who really balances their checkbook anyway?", this leads them to the belief that it is "ok" to do poorly in math because this is the way society treats the world of mathematics. Children see and feel that it really does not matter later in life, so why should they be concerned about it now ? Also, many times children are turned off to the subject of math because of the drill and practice which becomes redundant and boring.The purpose of this paper is to help people understand that math is a life long pursuit and it is something that can be enjoyed as a child in school. This thesis will help teachers and parents understand how to make math a more enjoyable subject in school. It will also provide many techniques to eliminate the anxiety felt in the math classroom by providing a number of suggestions for fun and meaningful activities.Honors CollegeThesis (B.?.