This math art collaboration project comes from Incredible Art! Kids show their knowledge of geometry terms by creating art! Each child is given a piece of paper. They are given an instruction (such as make 3 dots). Then, they pass their sheet of paper. Another instruction is given (ex: use a compass to create 3 circles from the 3 dots). Students draw on their peers' paper. Then, they pass the paper. Papers get passed around until they reach their "owner." The owner embellishes the line drawing to create a unique piece of art!
You can grab these geometric art printable...and let your kids imaginations run wild! A perfect free printable to let the creativity flow.
Surface patterns on works of art created in the Islamic world have been prized for centuries for their beauty, refinement, harmony, intricacy, and complexity. Arabesque is a western word for the Islamic art of zakhrafa, which consists of geometric designs embellished by more organic motifs such as vines. It is an amazing world of geometry, patterns, shapes and their interaction with each other. If you teach a child to draw a an exact square with out ruler measurements and only with a compass and straight edge, if you teach them about circumference, radius, well you can teach it in a lot of different ways, but doing it with Arabesque and Islamic design is more fun, challenging and develops critical thinking. I have gathered a few resources for using Islamic design as a base for geometry. I am not giving the suggestions for year group or key stages, as many of these can be used by children of different levels. 1. Shapes Craft This one is for the younger ones. Show children lots of pictures of Islamic art. Can they find any shapes? any patterns? Then show them how arranging different shapes differently they can also make their own Islamic designs. While they are making their own ask questions like what patterns they can see? Which shape comes next etc. You can use foam shapes, wooden shapes, or any other ones lying around in house. If you haven’t got any, you can print the shapes from here glue them on a piece of paper and you have some very beautiful wall hangings. 2. Drawing Your Own For some kids (who like using their geometry sets) recreating an Islamic design can be an interesting challenge. Even for those who don’t like their geometry sets much, this can provide some measure of interest. For younger children it can be a very good excuse to learn using compass. My children have learned many of their “gons” like hexagon, octagon etc from Islamic designs. You can do the following: Using a square grid try to copy patterns like this (for an inspiration on how to draw complex patterns on square grid, click here) Using a Compass and a straight edge, practice drawing: 1- The triangle and the circle: simple division into six. 2- Variations on the octagonal theme (the static and the dynamic octagon). (Learn about them here) 3- The octagon and the semi-regular grids. 4- The octagon and the eight-pointed star. 5- How the circle divides itself. 6- The square, four- and eight-fold symmetry. 7- The basis for the classical Islamic Pattern of what is called the eight-fold rosettes. 8- The construction of eight-fold symmetry with a sixteen-fold rosette. (To learn the step-by-step guides on the above skills, and to create patterns using them, i have got two excellent resources. First is this excellent e-book, Islamic Art and Geometric Design by The Metropolitan Museum of Arts. Just a word of caution though, the explanation in the beginning about Islamic Believes and practices is not very accurate. Second resource is the following tutorial. You can download them on your system from here: arab1 and arab2) You can use Taprats program to make your own Islamic designs and learn the relationship of shapes to each other without having to actually draw them. Taprats is a Java applet that implements design technique for Islamic star patterns. The technique is based largely on the work of Hankin in the early part of the twentieth century. Taprats has a library of built-in tilings that can be used to construct many famous Islamic designs. Even better, the construction of these designs is parameterized in certain ways, so you can use Taprats as a vehicle for exploration of the vast space of Islamic designs. The following design is made using Taprats (not by me) You can also download it on your system from here. (If you are not sure how to use it, read the user manual from here) Use a computer software, try making patterns based on hexagons, octagons and stars by manipulating the basic shapes in different ways. Recommended software: Adobe Illustrator or even Photoshop Tux Paint Drawing for Children Microsft Paint Visit a museum and see different Islamic arts, and perhaps do some of the activities suggested here You can embed History very well with this theme Last but not least, what is the Islamic ruling on Islamic art? 1. Islam does not forbid the art, as far as it doesn’t contain any fawaahish, and doesn’t include the drawing of animated figures. The prohibition of drawing animated objects is proved by following ahadeeth: It is narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar (Radhiallahu Anhu) that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “Those who make pictures will be punished on the day of judgment. It will be said to them: Bring to life what you have created!” It is narrated on the authority of Ibn Mas'ood (Radhiallahu Anhu) that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “The people who will be most severely punished on the Day of Judgment are those who make pictures (of animate objects)”. It is narrated on the authority of Ibn Abbaas (Radiallahu Anhu) that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasalam) said, “Every person who creates pictures of animate objects will be in the fire of Hell. Every picture that he created will be given a life and will punish him in Jahannum2. Like any other form of amusement, it is not lawful to indulge too much in it. When used as a tool for education, it is indeed permissible. For the purpose of recreation also it is permissible but if the engrossment is causing the person to cause delay in his/her salaah etc then caution better be observed. 3. Tell children about extravagency, its vices and prohibition. It is narrated in Bukhari: Narrated Ash-sha'bi: The clerk of Al-Mughira bin Shu'ba narrated, "Muawiya wrote to Al-Mughira bin Shu'ba: Write to me something which you have heard from the Prophet (p.b.u.h) ." So Al-Mughira wrote: I heard the Prophet saying, "Allah has hated for you three things: 1. Vain talks, (useless talk) that you talk too much or about others. 2. Wasting of wealth (by extravagance) 3. And asking too many questions (in disputed religious matters) or asking others for something (except in great need). (See Hadith No. 591, Vol. Ill)Then show them the pictures of masaajid and other buildings with ornate “Islamic” decorations. (Can you see the irony? most of the “Islamic” designs are applied in totally un Islamic way) Think about the amount spent, the effort put and ask them their opinion about spending so much time and wealth on decorating masaajids and other buildings. Personally i think that this extreme indulgence in decorating masaajids etc is one of our greatest shortcomings as an Ummah. The millions spent in the beautification of masaajid can be very well spared. The Ummah whose young are dying of hunger is spending their millions and resources in beautifying the mere buildings of house of Allaah, Who loves simplicity and has ordered his servants to practise upon it.. If the effort spent in beautifying the buildings of masaajid were rather spent in beautifying the souls of masaajid (its musallees and their Imaan) it would be worth decidedly more, and Allaah knows the best! The arcitecture of Muslim Spain , like of AL Hamra etc, is said to be the biggest inspiration for Islamic design, yet today there are no native Spanish Muslims left because the rulers of Muslim Spain had fallen in the trap of Dunya. If you read through Spanish Muslim history, the thing that stands out is the indulgence of Muslims in finnesses and riches. They built grand domes and let the morals fall. May Allaah Swt grants this ummah the understanding aamin. I see this unit on Islamic design as a perfect opportunity to etch in the minds of our young the evils of getting too fond of this world and its riches. May Allaah save us and all the Ummaah from this great evil aamin.
Geometric Art
You can grab these geometric art printable...and let your kids imaginations run wild! A perfect free printable to let the creativity flow.
Have you ever seen those little wooden dolls that split open to show another little doll inside, then another inside that one? Ever wonder what they're called? Read on to find out - and see how the math stacks up in these stacking dolls!
A Collaborative Blog for Upper Elementary (3rd-6th Grade) teachers!
Paper Planets are a simple planet craft that introduces kids to the magic of turning a 2D material into a 3D object.
Create fun math art with kids by graphing a pi skyline or cityscape using the numbers in pi. A creative Pi Day activity to celebrate Pi Day in a creative way.
A collaborative blog by Pre K and Kindergarten specialists. Child growth and development, information, free printables.
full photo tutorial - how to make a pretty paper orb
As a (slightly belated) Halloween post, here's a cool thing you can do with glow stick bracelets (or really anything, I just happen to have a lot of these now) - Check it out! This arrangement is known as the Borromean rings and is particularly interesting because no two rings are actually linked to each other, yet all three together are linked. They can be worn like so in a nice, mathematically interesting bracelet. Putting these rings together is fantastically simple. First take two bracelets (or other circular objects of your choice) and overlap one on the other like so. Then, take the third bracelet and weave it through the other two, alternating over and under as you come around. Then simply connect up the two ends of the third bracelet and voila! If you look closely, you'll find some other neat properties. For example, if you were to cut the Borromean rings, you would get one iteration of the standard three-strand braid, suggesting an alternate method of construction. Just as if you were to remove one strand of a braid and cause it to fall apart, you can try and take out one ring and see that the other two are no longer linked. Also notice how if you look at any one ring, it is wholly inside of, and wholly outside of, the other two rings. Alternatively, you could dip your rings into some bubble solution. The result is one of a class of objects called Seifert surfaces, any surface defined by a knot or link. Here is a beautiful sculpture of this surface (image source) And just think, all of this from three simple rings... "I'm just playing. That's what math is - wondering, playing, amusing yourself with your imagination." - Paul Lockhart
Sometimes what starts out as a doodle can become an exploration in math and appreciated as art. In my last post, Vi Hart demonstrated the power of dots and lines and their connections to the coni…
Use a math Boggle board to build students' critical thinking skills. Free printable and digital activity included.
Here’s a fun way to use LEGO® bricks – build some math patterns! And by patterns, I don’t mean just your usual preschool patterns. We’re moving beyond red-blue-red-blue here because math can be COOL! This STEM activity can be used with a wide variety of ages, and it will encourage kids to be creative. Challenge […]
The school year is winding down for me, and for my students it marks the end of their junior high experience. I have a hard time with the end of the year. I get sad
color puzzles: fun math and logic for kids | teachmama.com
full photo tutorial - how to make a pretty paper orb
In my research I was struggling to find articles specifically on promotional design for museum exhibitions, so I decided to try researching just exhibition design. With this, I got a lot of…
Click here to see my First Day of School 2014 I put up the same locker signs as I have in the past letting the students know I would b...
So all my students, kinder-town through 4th-grade-land, are participating in International Dot Day. I know several of you art teacherin' peeps are doing the same, amiright? I have absolutely loved dreaming up projects that I hope (fingers and toes crossed) have been artistic, creative, unique and inspiring (our feature Word(s) of the Week for these first four weeks of school). I'll give you a sneak peak of all our projects at the end of the week with complete lessons to come. In the meantime, lemme introduce you to my favorite dot lesson to date, the String-Stitched Dot! Dude. After seeing this 4th grader's stitched design I've decided I wanna create a stitched color wheel! Doesn't this one totally remind you of that? I love his pattern. I gave the kids three design options to choose from with the freedom to play with those ideas, change 'em and make them their own. I love how this artist used symmetry and color to create a sunset-esque stitch. One of the ideas the kids could stitch was one we called "rotating squares". This was not an easy design to stitch but once you got the hang of it, it went by in a flash. None of the kids wanted to stop stitching so many of them thought of ways to enhance that design idea. I liked how Tony found a way to stitch a circle around this squares. For this lesson, we used the following: * 10" X 10" cardboard (I did a lil dumpster diving for those) * Paint and brushes (because the cardboard looked like, well, cardboard. We had to jazz it up.) * Florescent yarn (because this here art teacher is currently on an '80's kick, can ya tell?) * Tapestry needles (what big eyes you have! The better to thread you with, my dear.) * Stitching template (so we all end up with the same 16 evenly spaced lines) * Masking tape On our very first day of art, after covering all this biznatch, the kids painted their pieces of cardboard, "thickly and quickly". Meaning, since they had the option of using texture combs, they needed to make sure the paint was thick and wet as the comb can only rake the surface and create super cool textures when it is. Then I gave the kids of using florescent paint to add some splatters as, let's be honest, splatter painting is super rad. AND makes the first day of art just about the best thing everrrrr. On our second day of art, after our Word of the Week/Artist Inspiration routine, we had to prep our board for stitching. For that, I gave the kids these old coffee container lids with 16 evenly spaced notches drawn with silver Sharpie. The kids were to make sure the circle was placed 2" from the top/bottom and sides (well, hello thar, math connection!) before tracing it and drawing tick marks for the notches. Once done with that, the kids were given such dangerous art supplies as push pins and needles. With the push pins, the kids put the initial holes in their boards where the notches were drawn. Because they'd be stitching with thick tapestry needles, I then had them go back and push the needles through the board to make the notches even bigger. From there, the kids had to start plotting their design... For this, they got a worksheet. Yay, worksheets! They had to complete the directions of each design ("even if I don't want the other designs?!" YES. DO. IT. RIGHT. MEOW.) They were also given the option to come up with their own ideas, or mix and match the ones I suggested, on the right. To best explain this process, I created a lil video clip. There are several steps so I hope I'm making some sort of sense. I showed the kids the steps to stitching ALL three of these designs that way they could feel free to pick and choose/mix and match once they were on their own. And now! For a Totally Inappropriate Short Story! Gather 'round friends, this one's a gem: So, on that very first day of stitching, when I'm walking the kids through the steps, I thought it might be less confusing for them if I referred each of the 16 holes in their stitching board as a letter. This way they could remember stuff like, "I stitch from A to B, from A to C, back to A then to D", for 'zample. However, whilst in the midst of teaching, I may or may not have mistakenly said this several times (unbeknownst to my innocent babies!): "You first start at the A-hole. Then you go to the B-hole. Return to the A-hole. REMEMBER! If you are doing a radiating design, you always return to the A-hole." And I think it was the phrase always return to the A-hole that actually stopped me mid-breath and caused a rash of red to creep over my face. My mind started racing: did I just say the words A-hole to my kids, not once but several times, and neither me nor the kids noticed?! If I don't call it A-hole, what DO I call it? The "A-Spot"? What happens when we get to the letter G?! OMGeee, what am I gonna do?! And it was then that we began to refer to the notches as numbers. And all was A-hole-free in art land. WHEW. I gotta say, the kids loved this project. Especially my boys. Which I don't find that surprising as they are always the ones that love any weaving projects we do. It's that working-with-my-hands/math-mind that makes them adore these types of things. Is that sexist? Maybe. Is it true? Yes. A coupla kids found ways to incorporate their initial in the design. This one kills me ask it looks like the symbol for Anarchy...and this sweet child is the furthest thing from a punky-Anarchist. I love how this artist played with our school colors to create her design. And there you have it! A String-Stitched Dot for Dot Day! Do you think this is a project that you'd give a go in your art room? I do believe your kids would dig it. For our display, I decided to connect the boards together with a coupla paperclips. I love how they look as a group...ready for Dot Day! And what are you up to for Dot Day? I'd love to know what your kids are creating so puh-lease share, y'all!
Taking an entire class period away just to celebrate Pi Day? That sounds crazy right? You don't have to take an entire class period if you honestly cannot make up that time but here are a few ways you can easily incorporate Pi Day celebrations into your routine that can be as simple as a warm-up or as an early finisher activity. Here is how it went down in my classes this year: I displayed this quote from Albert Einstein in my lightbox. Click here to get these for your lightbox! 1. A Read-Aloud The first thing I did was get out this awesome book from my elementary teaching days. You may think it is silly to read a picture book to older students but you would be surprised at how attentive they are! I walk around my classroom and hold the book up high so all can see. I get really expressive when reading the book which seems to keep them engaged. It only takes a few minutes to read this book and you can have this as your warm-up for the day if you are crunched for time. 2. Discovery of Pi (How is it derived?) My Aunt has been a math teacher forever! She even taught me in middle school! She handed down this giant box of wooden circles to me 10 years ago! Can you find the carving of 1985 with 2nd period in the picture? I have students work with a partner to derive pi using these circles and yarn. You simply give each group some yarn, a wooden block, and a pair of scissors. Students will wrap the yarn around the circumference of the circle. They will then see how many diameters of their circle they can cut from their circumference. The students will find that they can only get 3 full diameters and will have a small piece of yarn leftover. This represents the 3.14159...Each group will get the same thing no matter how big or small their circle. They will discover that the formula for pi is circumference divided by the diameter. You can use any circular object you can find in your room (Pringles lids, coffee lids, cup bottoms, cans, etc.) or have students bring in something round! I unwrap some yarn and roll it around my fingers so it is quicker for students to grab. Watch this quick video of how to complete this activity! 3. Investigate Pi I created some quick anchor charts for each class period and drew a big pi symbol in the corners (a different color for each class). I displayed this awesome Pi Day Investigation FREEBIE from To The Square Inch on my board so I didn't have to make copies. Students were given time to use tablets, computers, or their phones to find answers to the questions. Each group had to choose 3-5 questions to answer from the list and then write their answers on the chart paper. I hung the charts in the hallway so other students could read about Pi Day! Click here to get this free activity! 4. Pi Day Coordinate Graphing If there is time left I have students work on the Pi Day Coordinate Graphing Mystery Picture. These make great classroom or hallway decorations and give students the chance to work on their graphing skills. Click here to get this for your students! See time lapse below of the Pi Day Mystery Picture! Here are a few more ideas from my math teacher friends to get you going on celebrating pi day in your secondary math classroom! I hope you and your students have fun celebrating the most popular irrational number!! Pi Earrings Chain of Pi Free Pi Challenge Pi Activities Bundle Pi Task Cards
Invite your kids to play with their food – and at the same time, with their math! Here are some Math Maker ideas and beautiful photos from our guest Francesco De Comite. Escher bird tessellation cookies. Please tell us a…Read more ›
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