Abstract
When mathematics lessons are linked with personal experiences, typically, the result is that the student gains a stronger understanding of the content than if the lessons are isolated and unconnected. This premise was recently supported in a local fifth-grade classroom. The students learned to play three mathematically disparate rhythms on conga drums as an introduction to an exploration of ratio. Ratios connect naturally with African and Afro-Cuban drumming because the drummer's combination of many rhythms, each with a pattern repetition of different length results in a polyrhythmic song. The pattern repetitions are comprised of a given quantity of one type of beat mixed with a specified quantity of another type of beat, or a ratio of one beat to the other one. Although we completed this lesson with a group of children of whom half were African American, we believe this lesson can be powerful and meaningful for children of all ethnic backgrounds.
Published Version
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