From Ice to Insight: Math Meets Hockey in the Classroom (Grades 4-6)
Hockey already lives in many students’ worlds. It’s common to hear students sharing heartfelt hockey comments, such as: “Did you see my Oilers beat the Flames last night in the Battle of Alberta?” or “Those Canucks just can’t win it all!” Students know the teams, the scores, and the excitement of a big goal. This Grade 4-6 lesson simply brings that familiarity into the classroom and uses it to make math feel more natural, meaningful, and engaging.
For elementary school children, hockey isn’t just a sport. It’s patterns, numbers, and decisions unfolding in real time. That makes it a strong entry point for math lessons that focus on counting, comparing, and making sense of real-time data.
Big Idea: Seeing Math in the Game
Designed for Grades 4-6, this lesson uses basic hockey statistics to explore addition, subtraction, and data representation. Students can work with simple game scenarios—goals by period, team totals, or individual player stats—and take on the role of scorekeepers and analysts. Instead of solving disconnected problems (written in an outdated textbook), students use math the same way it shows up in the game of hockey: to track progress, compare results, and answer questions that actually matter.
Why Hockey Works for Math
Hockey is fast, structured, and full of numbers. Periods break the game into clear chunks (i.e., 20 minutes). Goals change the story of the game instantly (e.g., 2-1 lead turning into a 2-2 tie). Even students who don’t follow hockey closely can understand how the score during a game moves and why it matters. Because the context feels familiar, students spend less time asking, “Why are we doing this?” and more time thinking about what the numbers—associated with the game of hockey—are telling them.
Lesson Idea—From Ice to Insight
Materials
Online Resource: NHL.com (beginning from this NHL site, teachers can find “Game Reviews” and team information)
Printed NHL hockey game stats (e.g., goals by period, player scoring, or team totals)
Graph paper and coloured pencils (or crayons) for graphing
Optional: hockey images, team logos, or a short highlight clip of a recent game as a visual reference
Learning Activities (45–60 minutes)
1. Warm-Up: Scorekeeper Chat (10 minutes)
Start with a short game summary; choose a recent NHL game summary (Game Recap); display the stats and ask a few simple questions:
How many goals were scored altogether (by both teams)?
What’s the goal difference between the two teams?
This quick discussion will help get students thinking about numbers before they ever pick up a pencil.
2. Math in Action: Build a Bar Graph (20 minutes)
Ask the students to turn the game data into a visual representation by using tally marks or simple graphs (e.g., plot graphs), or to create bar graphs showing goals by period or by player.
As students work (in partners), guide them to label their graphs clearly and explain what the data shows.
3. Coach’s Corner Reflection (10 minutes)
Ask the students to answer a short written prompt:
Which period was the most productive, offensively? How do you know?
Encourage the students to use their graphs as evidence and to explain their thinking in full sentences.
Bonus Learning Activity Ideas
Ask the students to write their own game summary by using the information from their graphs.
Ask the students to develop a short podcast discussion (or video) pertaining to their game summary.
Final Whistle
This lesson helps Grade 4-6 students see math as something active, meaningful, and useful, not just a set of problems on a page 46 (Unit 2). By connecting numbers to the flow of a hockey game, students build confidence, practice reasoning, and learn how to explain what data means—not just calculate it.
When math feels connected to something they already care about—such as game of hockey—students are more willing to lean in and give it a try. And sometimes, that’s the biggest win of all.