{"id":10134,"date":"2024-09-26T20:45:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T00:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.com\/blog\/?p=10134"},"modified":"2024-10-15T16:38:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T20:38:54","slug":"math-storytelling-using-ai-to-create-engaging-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/2024\/09\/math-storytelling-using-ai-to-create-engaging-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Math Storytelling: Using AI to Create Engaging Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.<\/p>\nRobert McKee<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Storytelling isn’t just for language arts class anymore. It adapts well as a teaching tool for math classrooms. As educators recently celebrated Math Storytelling Day on September 25, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how this powerful tool can transform math classrooms. The annual event highlights the importance of narratives that demonstrate how mathematics enhances our everyday lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone loves a good story, and telling stories as part of math instruction provides many benefits. In this article, \u201cUsing Stories Beyond Word Problems to Teach Math<\/a>,\u201d Crystal Frommert shares several examples of ways to use storytelling to engage students and make math concepts relatable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding storytelling day starts with defining the differences between storytelling and word problems.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storytelling in the math classroom builds in the traditional components of character, setting, plot, theme, and conflict while also including the addition of math problems. But developing an effective and interesting story that incorporates math takes time and skill. This is where AI tools like ChatGPT (reviewed here<\/a>), Claude (reviewed here<\/a>), and Perplexity (reviewed here<\/a>) come to the rescue to provide time-saving support by generating creative and interesting stories for any classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start with\u00a0a prompt framework like the Five S Model (described in detail in this TeachersFirst blog post<\/a>) to describe a story you want to create. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Set the scene:<\/strong> Begin by describing your context. For example: \u201cI am a fifth-grade math teacher with 23 students in my class. Two students have IEPs, one student uses hearing aids, and two students are in the gifted program.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Be specific:<\/strong> When writing your prompt, include a sufficient amount of detail. Here is an example: \u201cGenerate a one-hour lesson plan that ties into Math Storytelling Day. The math topic is converting fractions to decimals. My students have a basic knowledge of this topic but have not mastered all of the fifth-grade goals yet. As part of the lesson, I want to be the narrator and stop at different points during the story for groups of students to solve the math problems.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Simplify language:<\/strong> When generating your prompt, use your own words\u2014you don\u2019t need to use jargon.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Structure the feedback:<\/strong> Use prompts to adjust the output to fit your needs. For example: \u201cDuring this lesson, all students should be actively involved in the storytelling activity. Include a follow-up activity where students write and share math stories.\u201d Keep prompting as often as necessary to achieve the result you want.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Share feedback:<\/strong> Using the prompts above, ChatGPT generated a lesson plan based on a story called \u201cThe Big Game Statistics\u201d and provided everything except the story. After a follow-up prompt asking for a story that includes stopping points for activities, ChatGPT added a football story set in the town of Mathville. Additional follow-ups might consist of a change of setting, use of a different topic such as a favorite TV show or movie, or asking it to include hints for each activity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are example conversations with ChatGPT<\/a> and Perplexity<\/a> using the scenario and prompts described above. \u00a0As always, edit the output to fit your specific needs and always verify the accuracy of the information shared when using AI tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can extend learning by:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n