Product Description

A great new way to getall kids excited about math!

Fantasy sports are a hit worldwide, and now teachers and parents can take advantage of this phenomenon to give students a reason to look forward to doing math. The games and activities in Fantasy Football and Mathematics will get kids excited about learning and practicing math, even if they're not big sports fans. With this fun-filled educational resource you can teach one math concept or many, and plan lessons that can last for a week or a whole season.

Here's how it works. Students create fantasy teams by picking real-life professional football players, following their players' statistics, and calculating their team's total points using algebraic or nonalgebraic methods specifically designed to complement the math skills they are learning. The instructions are easy to follow, and the dynamic hands-on games address all learning styles and abilities. The book includes more than 100 scoring systems that give you the flexibility to customize the content according to your students' skill levels.

In addition to the basic Fantasy Football game, the book contains easy-to-use lesson plans, reproducible worksheets for extra practice on 46 different math concepts, graphing activities, quizzes, a pre- and post- test, and an answer key. More than just a fun way to learn math, the book's activities also support the NCTM Math Standards.



"I had students' eyes light up like never before when I told them we were going to play Fantasy Football in math class! The students who have never been successful at anything in math are now my experts helping other students. They are so proud of themselves!"
--Julie Myers, Lyman Moore Middle School,Portland, Maine

"Playing Fantasy Football and Mathematics from a preservice teacher perspective allows my secondary math methods students to see the power of teaching math with motivational and mathematically sound materials. My students are very engaged in Fantasy Football."
--Dana Pomykal Franz, assistant professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Mississippi State University

Also available in the Fantasy Sports and Mathematics series:

Fantasy Baseball and Mathematics | Fantasy Basketball and Mathematics | Fantasy Soccer and Mathematics

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #636282 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780787994440
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Teachers who are seeking to find ways to engage and motivate their students through sports, particularly baseball, would be well served by this resource book." (Education Review, May 2007)

Review
“Playing Fantasy Football and Mathematics from a preservice teacher perspective allows my secondary math methods students to see the power of teaching math with motivational and mathematically sound materials. My students are very engaged in fantasy football.”
–Dana P Franz, Assistant Professor, Curriculum & Instruction, Mississippi State University

“Fantasy Sports and Mathematics!  Finally, a fun and effective method for not only teaching math knowledge but going further and providing a framework for students to comprehend, apply, and analyze the learned competencies.  A rare and innovative example of academics using sports to teach students life skills.” –Kim Beason, Associate Professor of Park and Recreation Management, Mississippi State University

"I have used Fantasy Sports and Mathematics for the past two years in my pre-service math education classes. It is an outstanding curricular example of making learning meaningful and connected, getting students to make data-driven decisions in an engaging and exciting activity." 
–Tim Van Soelen, Instructor of Education, Dordt College, Sioux Falls, SD.

"Dan Flockhart’s innovative Fantasy Sports and Mathematics books are rich and innovative tools for inspiring students to delve deeply into the study of mathematics.  He helps students create a solid personal understanding of abstract mathematical concepts through practical application in the form of fantasy sports.  His books are a highly accessible, motivational, and unique resource for teachers who want their students to appreciate the relevance and importance of mathematics in their own lives."
–Ann Diver-Stamnes, Professor, Humboldt State University, CA

From the Back Cover

A great new way to getall kids excited about math!

Fantasy sports are a hit worldwide, and now teachers and parents can take advantage of this phenomenon to give students a reason to look forward to doing math. The games and activities in Fantasy Football and Mathematics will get kids excited about learning and practicing math, even if they're not big sports fans. With this fun-filled educational resource you can teach one math concept or many, and plan lessons that can last for a week or a whole season.

Here's how it works. Students create fantasy teams by picking real-life professional football players, following their players' statistics, and calculating their team's total points using algebraic or nonalgebraic methods specifically designed to complement the math skills they are learning. The instructions are easy to follow, and the dynamic hands-on games address all learning styles and abilities. The book includes more than 100 scoring systems that give you the flexibility to customize the content according to your students' skill levels.

In addition to the basic Fantasy Football game, the book contains easy-to-use lesson plans, reproducible worksheets for extra practice on 46 different math concepts, graphing activities, quizzes, a pre- and post- test, and an answer key. More than just a fun way to learn math, the book's activities also support the NCTM Math Standards.

"I had students' eyes light up like never before when I told them we were going to play Fantasy Football in math class! The students who have never been successful at anything in math are now my experts helping other students. They are so proud of themselves!"
—Julie Myers, Lyman Moore Middle School,Portland, Maine

"Playing Fantasy Football and Mathematics from a preservice teacher perspective allows my secondary math methods students to see the power of teaching math with motivational and mathematically sound materials. My students are very engaged in Fantasy Football."
—Dana Pomykal Franz, assistant professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Mississippi State University

Also available in the Fantasy Sports and Mathematics series:

Fantasy Baseball and Mathematics | Fantasy Basketball and Mathematics | Fantasy Soccer and Mathematics

Customer Reviews

Get students excited about math
I have been using Fantasy Football in my classes this fall. Students that are good in math, but not so much socially are working peacefully with students that are good with sports, but not so much mathematically. All are more excited about math than they once were.
I knew nothing about football going in, but this book makes Fantasy Football easy. I still don't know much about football, but I do know that a touchdown is worth .25 and a PAT is worth .042. (At least in the scoring system I used) You can tailor the scoring system and worksheets to your students' needs. Even though I don't know football and really am not terribly interested in it, this program has been easy to implement and I think very worthwhile.

Want to Engage Students Mathematically?
This is the first year that I have been using Fantasy Sports Math. I teach remedial math (below Algebra I) for 9th graders at a large suburban public high school. I teach on a block schedule...100 minutes per class every other day, and I have my students create their own Fantasy Teams, which they calculate points for once per week. It's an extremely effective "filler" activity that have students primarily on-task as they busily sort through, calculate, and post their player's stats...all while learning how to convert equivalent fractions, turn improper fractions into mixed numbers, etc. It's exciting to "talk smack" with the students as I have my own team and see students do the same as they compete with their other classmates. For this reason, I give it four and a half stars (if Amazon had that option). FSM's user-friendliness took a huge step forward this year as the author funds a website that actually gives you the weekly stats of each player...so no more looking at cumbersome newspaper box scores (yikes!). Also, with the purchase of the book, the author gives you a Player Value ranking that allows students to create their own team given a $40 million salary cap. The author also made me aware that students' calculation can be verified quickly online. Overall, definitely a recommended book to buy. Keep up the great job, Mr. Flockhart!

Special Education
This is a good resouce for getting students interested in math through Fantasy Football. The online stats and draft materials are very helpful. Some of the worksheets were difficult to work with for my students, so I adapted a lot of them.