Playing with math. How to contribute to Mathematical Literacy in Primary from Physical Education

The article presents the results of an investigation whose main purpose is to show how you can contribute to the Mathematical Literacy of students in 4th grade from the subject of Physical Education. For this, a case study is designed with the intention of observing the educational potential of a didactic resource proposed by a Physical Education teacher in a semi -private school for Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona). The resource consists of problem situations that require the application of mathematical knowledge to practice the games and sports raised in the Physical Education classroom. Participant observation is the main strategy for the collection of qualitative and quantitative data. The results provide evidence that the problem situations carried out have promoted the use of practically all the curricular contents of the area of mathematics. Specifically, the students used them to analyze the situation, develop an action plan, play and solve the problems. Furthermore, the results allowed us to verify that the problem situations contextualized in Physical Education facilitated the process of mathematization and encouraged the performance of mathematical skills, essential aspects to boost Mathematical Literacy.