By Julien Verdier, Mathematics Teacher
École Polyvalente des Îles, Centre de services scolaire des Îles
When teaching mathematics, one of the ongoing challenges is keeping students engaged throughout the entire class period, regardless of their range of abilities. This challenge pushes me to continuously reflect on and refine my practice. Each day, I rely on effective instructional strategies and aim to bring energy and clear structure to my lessons.
As a teacher, I regularly reflect on my practice, look into new approaches, and draw inspiration from both local and international educators. My goal is to design meaningful learning experiences and create a classroom where the enjoyment of learning remains central. I experiment with new activities and approaches, and I often encounter setbacks, but these efforts sometimes lead to valuable strategies that have a real impact.
I draw inspiration from mathematics educators such as Peter Liljedahl (Building Thinking Classrooms), Andrew Stadel (Clothesline Math), as well as colleagues whose innovative practices encourage me to continue refining my own.
By combining several instructional strategies, including ongoing assessment, collaboration, and immediate feedback, I developed a motivating learning activity.
While solving equations and inequalities in algebra requires repetition, structured practice remains important. However, repetitive exercises without a clear purpose or engaging context often lead to disengagement.
To address this, I adapted the game Hitster to help students practise solving inequalities in a Grade 9 mathematics course.
The learning goals are to:
Students work in randomly assigned groups of three, using vertical whiteboards and a quadrant writing approach to support collaborative problem solving. A clothesline above each workspace serves as a timeline.
The adapted Hitster game follows simple rules. Once established, the activity creates a positive classroom atmosphere that supports engagement and learning.
Students have one song to solve an inequality and determine the solution set. The answer gives a clue about when the song being played was released.
Students then place their clue card on the timeline to check their answer. As an added element of engagement, they can try to identify the performing artist to earn a bonus point.
This non-mathematical element increases interest and motivation.
Each group of three students receives a set of yellow question cards labelled A to Z, a dry-erase marker, and a vertical whiteboard with a clothesline.
At the outset, each team is given a blue “2000” card associated with the song Music by Madonna. I use the song to review the game rules and expectations for collaborative work.
The first song, A, is played. During the song, students solve the inequality on card A, write the artist’s name under their Hitster card, and place their yellow card in the correct chronological position on the clothesline.
The teacher, positioned at the centre of the classroom, can easily identify errors or effective strategies used by the teams. Colour coding, using blue and yellow, supports quick visual assessment. I provide immediate feedback to small groups or the whole class as needed.
The correct answer is then displayed using a PowerPoint presentation. Teams with incorrect answers remove their yellow card, while those with correct answers keep theirs in place.
The process is repeated with song B.
While students work on the new inequality, I distribute blue answer cards for the previous song to teams that answered correctly. Teams that correctly identify the artist receive a bonus point in the form of a vinyl token.
I also check students’ calculations and solution methods, as solutions must stay visible until they are checked. The quadrant writing structure allows up to four solutions to be displayed at once, which supports feedback and provides clear reference points for students.
The activity continues in this way until the allotted time ends or the bell rings.
I came up with this activity while cross-country skiing and, two weeks later, entered my classroom with the stress of a solo performance. Within minutes of the lesson beginning, the classroom was fully engaged, with students both singing and solving problems collaboratively.
Since then, students have asked when we will do the activity again, whether more songs are available, and whether it can be used for review.
This shows that game-based learning in mathematics can help to understand almost without students realizing it, while reducing the fear of making mistakes.
Sometimes, taking risks is necessary to learn differently. Like a silly, surreal pop song, it’s important to imagine new possibilities, even if you don’t know where they’ll go.
With mathematical Hitster, I wanted to show that, for a moment, the classroom can become a space where students take risks, listen to one another, and learn together, and where learning no longer feels like a burden.
The classroom can then become a shared space where everyone feels they belong. At its core, students and educators are not so different. Both are eager to learn in an environment where the enjoyment of learning remains central.
If this approach can enhance teaching practice, it becomes possible to rethink learning and continue to believe that even in mathematics, an average class can become something truly engaging.
It is essential to comply with copyright regulations before implementing this activity. In Quebec for example, educational institutions are permitted to play recorded music such as CDs or audio files in class without authorization or royalty payments, provided that the activity takes place on school premises, occurs within an educational context, is not for profit, and the audience consists primarily of students, teachers, or educational staff. However, the source of the music must be legal, and teachers must also respect the terms of use of digital platforms. Most streaming services (e.g., Spotify, Apple Music) are licensed for personal use only and generally do not permit classroom use.
Get the latest articles and curated highlights from our current magazine edition—delivered to your inbox every month.
If you are subscribed, log in to access exclusive member content!
