Annual Math Awareness Month Theme is "Mathematics and Sports"

Annual "Math Awareness Month" was launched in 1986. At that time, it was geared toward the national level with such highlights as an exhibition in mathematics displayed at the Smithsonian Institution. Since that time, Math Awareness Month has trickled down to state, regional and local levels. Activities occur across the nation as the level of math consciousness elevates. Previous themes have included climate, voting, and the brain. This year the theme is sports. It coincides nicely with the opening of the major league baseball season in April.

The Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM*) works together each year to increase the public awareness of math. The United States needs more students taking an interest in the pursuit of mathematics-based careers, such as computer science and space technology. Math Awareness Month promotes this idea, demonstrating that mathematics can be intriguing and exciting.

Traditional and home-school teachers as well as parents can provide children with interesting, enjoyable activities that intersect math with sports. Math Awareness Month is celebrated from the elementary school level through the college level. Following are ten resources to get you started.

The Baseball Hall of Fame knows that sports comprise a huge part of our culture. They are doing their part to incorporate sports into math classrooms. If you can't make it on-site to Cooperstown, you can either participate in their video-conferencing programs or simply download their sports in math materials.

Free posters can be obtained at Math Awareness Month's website. Larger versions of the posters can be ordered for a fee.

Activities are continually placed on the Math Aware website. Teachers can add their own activities for others to view also.

Students will enjoy practicing the four basic operations with online games such as Fun Brain's Math Baseball or Prongo's Batter's Up Baseball.

Fantasy Sports and Mathematics have swept the nation. Many teachers and parents are vouching for the effect that this interaction with sports is having on test scores from elementary school through college.

Dream Box puts out a "Math Awareness Month Activity Calendar" for April. It is geared toward elementary students; however, it can be adapted to any age.

Students can practice a problem solving strategy by attempting the sport-themed puzzles available online from Sports Illustrated Kids. The puzzles range from 6 to 200 pieces.

FreeMathHelp.com is a great source for visual help on many math topics. They also post several lessons integrating sports and math.

Practicing decimals? Mrs. Glosser's Math Goodies provides worksheets that require students to compute and round batting averages.

Resources targeted at middle school students are available on the Expert Voices site. Students are challenged to answer such questions as, "Can you run as fast as a car?"

When creating your own math problems, comprehensive baseball statistics, available at Baseball Almanac's Stat Master, are helpful. More sports-related links can be found at Cool Sites for Middle School Children.

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*The Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) consists of the American Mathematical Society, the American Statistical Association, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the Mathematical Association of America.