Fifth- through eighth-grade students at Toledo St. Joan of Arc School hosted a Math Carnival as a fun way to teach the kindergarten through fourth-grade students math concepts. (Photo courtesy of Toledo St. Joan of Arc School)

In a process that began in October 2008, the fifth- through eighth-grade students developed rules, presented game concepts and scale drawings of booths to teachers, constructed the games and built the booths for the carnival.

Students in the younger grades were divided into two groups and given tickets to play the games, which were hosted by the students who developed them.

The all-day event included other fun carnival activities such as face painting and carnival snacks such as popcorn.

After the Math Carnival, the fifth- through eighth-grade students sat down with teachers to discuss not only what the students who played the games learned, but also what was learned by the students designing and building the games.

Fifth-grader Charlie Baumgartner says he “learned about working together as a team” to build their game, and sixth-grader Camden Buescher says he discovered “math can be fun” and “doesn’t always have to be homework and papers.”

 “The math carnival was a project that incorporated many different aspects of math," says Linda Bombrys, a fifth- and sixth-grade math teacher, “and the students did an incredible job designing, presenting and hosting their games. It was a treat to see the students have so much fun learning.”