Origami craze!

by Jackie Festa

My partner and I are in a 6th grade math classroom, and the unit we are in the middle of teaching to two of the classes is on the basic concepts of geometry. We had decided to incorporate the art of origami while teaching these concepts because we felt this would engage the students and make it a little more interesting for them. We have so much to cover in this unit that we had to start two days earlier than the official two weeks of full-time. I was nervous before the unit began that the students would not like our idea of Origami, and it would not capture the students’ attention because they might find it to be too hard. However I found that I had absolutely nothing to be worried about; the students were so excited about folding Origami and learning geometry. I could not believe it. My partner and I found students folding whenever there was spare time; the other 6th grade teachers were also telling us that they were catching students folding all the time. I just hope that these teachers do not get mad at us because it is distracting the students from their other school work. Furthermore it was so encouraging because our coop teacher liked the idea so much and she gave us such positive feedback.
Seeing the students so excited about learning and folding makes me feel so good. It really gives me the determination to make sure I make learning fun for all my students now and in the future. I realize that students can even have fun and be excited about math, a subject that many students find hard and discouraging. So far the reaction from this unit has given me the confidence that I am actually more ready for student teaching next semester than I thought I was in the past. I hope this unit continues to be a success, and the students truly learn and understand all the concepts in geometry while having fun folding Origami!