At first glance, the World Series and math may seem incongruous. Both were included in the lesson plan for 8th and 7th graders at Katherine Johnson Technology Magnet Academy in DeSoto.

“They don’t see math related to real-life scenarios,” said DeSoto ISD math teacher Tonisha Hedge. “We try to use every opportunity in real life; and since they’re in the World Series and it’s Texas, go Rangers!

Hedge used the World Series to help explain geometry concepts and more.

“Today we’re going to review the Pythagorean Theorem,” Hedge said. “So tell me, what do you know about the baseball diamond?”

Students used World Series-related math problems to work out answers, such as how far is it from 2nd base to home plate?

Hedge listened as the students argued for their answers. “Okay, our math is math,” Hedge said. “Stormy applause!”

“When I do math, I just think of it as nonsense. It just seems crazy,” Joshua McClellan said. “But I think I’m really learning how I can combine math and baseball.

“There’s a lot of math in sports,” Hedge said. “It gives us an opportunity to show students where math is relevant in the real world because we always get the question, when am I going to use this?”

“I’m not a big math person. I usually struggle,” Isabella Hernandez said. “It’s so exciting to see how math can relate to real world things as it should. You know math is everywhere!”

The World Series math lesson was a game changer.

DeSoto ISD will host a district-wide expo for families to learn more about the unique learning experiences at district schools. It begins at 9 a.m. and runs through noon Saturday, Nov. 4 at DeSoto High School, located at 600 Eagle Drive in DeSoto.