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Integrating Visual Arts with Math:Resources

EDUC 5453January 25, 2014

by: Melissa Babin, Liz Harrison, Kara Palmer & Wanda Younge

Table of Contents

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Introduction ………………………………………………………………. page 3

Activities:

Kindergarten ………………………………………………………..page 4

Grade 1 ……..…………………………………………………...… page 8

Grade 2 ……..……………………………………………………... page 10

Grade 3 ……..……………………………………………………... page 12

Grade 4 ……..……………………………………………………... page 14

Grade 5 ……..……………………………………………………... page 17

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Introduction

The integration of the arts into subject areas such as Mathematics, Language Arts, Social

Studies, and Science provides students with an opportunity to explore these subjects in a way

that sparks their engagement in learning and develops a deeper comprehension of educational

concepts. Students benefit from the incorporation of multiple learning styles which allow them

obtain a broader understanding of the material that is being taught. In the subject of

Mathematics, specifically, Visual Arts can be integrated in a variety of ways. We believe that a

fusion of the Art and Mathematics curriculums engages students in mathematical concepts and

promotes positive learning attitudes towards these concepts. It encourages spatial awareness and

the ability to solve problems in creative ways. We have provided a variety of Art integrated Math

activities below that may be used in elementary classrooms of all levels.

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Examples of Activities

Kindergarten ActivitiesHarptoons:A harptoon is an activity for young children to make fun animal drawings out of numbers. When Kindergarten students are first learning about number sense, this would be a great activity to help reinforce their understanding of numbers. From the art curriculum you will be getting students to use materials such as paper, pencil and markers and also helping them learn to recognize art elements such as color, line and shape. To create your own harptoons with your class, you can go onto the website to watch the instructional videos at www.harptoons.com. On this website you receive step-by-step instructions of how to draw different animals from different numbers. Of course if you feel comfortable with drawing these animals you could give out the instructions yourself without the video. Some Kindergarten students will be able to draw the snake on their own from step one, but some students might not have these fine motor skills yet. For these students you may want to hand out a page with steps 1, 2, and 3 already drawn. One of the drawings is making a snake out of the number 2.

Step one: The first step is to get your students to draw the number 2 on a blank page.

Step two: Next you will explain that the tip of the number two is where you draw in the snake’s eye, in an oval shape. You can also begin to draw in the snakes head by drawing a curvy line from the tip of the number 2 inwards.

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Step three: From the snake’s chin you will now curve out around the number 2 to make the snake’s body.

Step four: Now you need to complete the snake’s body by connecting the line to the number 2.

Step five: Now you need to make the long slithering tail at the end of his body. The tail should get smaller towards the end.

Step six: Here comes the fun part. The kids will get to design their snake with funky patterns and shapes. They can color in the snake and make patterns along the snake’s body.

*Materials needed: Paper, pencils, markers, crayonsMath Outcome: N4: Represent and describe numbers 2 to 10, concretely and pictorially.Art Outcome: Manipulate and experiment with art materials such as pencils, paint, wax crayons, pastels, markers, computer software, paper, clay and paste.

Colour by Number:

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Colour by number pages are very easy to find and use. Many examples can be found on http://www.education.com/worksheets/color-by-number/ . They can be used in an early Kindergarten class by reinforcing basic number sense. Children would associate numbers with colors to color in these pages. In an older elementary class, you might find color by number pages with addition, subtraction, multiplication or division problems. These pages could be used at a Math center, or as a worksheet for students who finish their work early. Younger Older

*Materials needed: colour by number pages, crayons, markersMath Outcome: N4: Represent and describe numbers 2 to 10, concretely and pictorially.Art Outcome: Manipulate and experiment with art materials such as pencils, paint, wax crayons, pastels, markers, computer software, paper, clay and paste.

Picture Patterns:Getting young children to make picture patterns would be a fun and simple activity. This could be done by giving students cut-out 2D shapes, colors or pictures and asking them to glue a pattern onto the page. You could also get them to cut out, draw, or paint their own repeating pattern if they have developed those fine motor skills. This activity would help them understand the concept of repeating patterns.

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*Materials needed: paper, scissors, construction paper, glue, paint, paint brushesMath Outcome: PR1: Demonstrate an understanding of repeating patterns.Art Outcome: Manipulate and experiment with art materials such as pencils, paint, wax crayons, pastels, markers, computer software, paper, clay and paste.

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Grade One Activities

Sum of 10 Rainbow:This is a specific example (found on Pinterest) of how you can use art to help teach a math lesson by allowing students to visualize the concept being taught. In this example, students would be learning about addition and thinking of the different summations of 10. To help students see the different ways you can add up to 10, it might be helpful to show them this rainbow drawing. This type of activity is something you could easily incorporate into any math lesson, by getting the class as a whole to represent a math problem visually.

*Materials needed: paper, markers, crayonsMath Outcome: N9: Demonstrate an understanding of of addition of numbers with answers to 20 and their corresponding subtraction facts concretely, pictorially, and symbolically.Art Outcome: Recognize and discriminate among the art elements (colour, line, texture, shape) in their art work, the work of artists, in nature and other objects in their total environment.

Shape CollageThis activity integrates art and mathematics by allowing children to find or create their own 2D shapes and use them to make a picture collage. You could give cut-out shapes to some students in order to help them make their picture collage, while children with stronger fine motor skills

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could draw or cut out their own. Students can use their shapes to make pictures of people, animals, or places. You could give this activity to an older grade by asking for a more complex picture.

*Materials needed: paper, construction paper, scissors, glueMath Outcome: SS2: Sort 3-D and 2-D shapes using one attribute, and explain the sorting rule.Art Outcome: Recognize and discriminate among the art elements (colour, line, texture, shape) in their art work, the work of artists, in nature and other objects in their total environment.

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Grade Two Activities:Geometry Buddies This activity (found on Pinterest) would be used as children are learning about 2D shapes in geometry. To help students recognize the different geometrical shapes, a good strategy would be to ask them to create their own. Each student could choose a shape and make their own geometry buddy. The body, hands, feet and eyes would be made out of their shape. On their buddy they could write how many sides and vertices their shape has.

*Materials needed: construction paper, scissors, glue, markers, white paper, markersMath Outcome: SS8: Describe, compare and construct 2-D shapes, including: triangles; squares; rectangles; circles.Art Outcomes: Recognize and discriminate among the art elements (colour, line, texture, shape) in their art work, the work of artists, in nature and other objects in their total environment. Manipulate and experiment with art materials such as pencils, paint, wax crayons, pastels, markers, computer software, paper, clay and paste.

Responding to Art: GraphingRather than having students make or draw pieces of art to help them visualize Math problems or concepts, teachers could also get their students to reflect on and respond to the visual arts in Math lessons as well. In this activity, you could show students a piece of artwork and ask students to reflect on it. Ask the students how the painting makes them feel (angry, sad, scared, peaceful, etc), and get students to take a class poll and record the data. The class could then graph their results.

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*Materials needed: a piece of artwork, paper, pencil, graph templateMath Outcomes: SP1: Gather and record data about self and others to answer questions. SP2: Construct and interpret concrete graphs.Art Outcomes: Demonstrate a willingness to discuss variety of art and formulate personal responses.

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Grade 3 Activities:

TangramsTangrams are manipulatives available to most schools. Students use tangrams to help them learn shapes, develop geometrical thinking and compare 2D shapes. In the classroom students can use tangrams to create a specific design or to create their own images. Tangrams can be modified to be simple or more difficult depending on the grade level you are teaching. A good website for students to use tangrams is http://www.abcya.com/tangrams.htm .

*Materials needed: paper templates, tangramsMath Outcomes: SS7: Sort regular and irregular polygons, including: triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, octagons, according to the number of sides. Art Outcome: Recognize and discriminate among the art elements (colour, line, texture, shape) in their art work, the work of artists, in nature and other objects in their total environment.

Fraction FlowersThis activity (found on Pinterest) provides students with the opportunity to practice and demonstrate their knowledge of fractions. It will also help them understand what a fraction represents compared to the whole number. First the students can make the stem and center of the flower. You can tell students that the flower will have a certain amount of petals for example 10. Then you give fractions that will represent the color of the petals. (2/10 of the petals will be red, 3/10 of the petals will be blue etc.) The students can then make their flowers according to the fractions provided.

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*Materials needed: paper, scissors, glue, crayons, circle tracerMath Outcomes: N13: Demonstrate an understanding of fractions by: explaining that a fraction represents a part of a whole; describing situations in which fractions are used; comparing fractions of the same whole with like denominators. Art Outcome: Recognize and discriminate among the art elements (colour, line, texture, shape) in their art work, the work of artists, in nature and other objects in their total environment.

Perspective DrawingAllow students to create (draw/paint) a picture of a landscape using 2D shapes for houses, trees, people, animals, etc. Explain to students that shapes in the front of the page should be larger because they are closer to the eye. Similarly images in the back should be small to make them seem further away. This demonstrates that as shapes get further away they also get smaller in size.

*Materials needed: paper, crayons, construction paper, glueMath Outcome: SS6: Describe objects according to the shape of the faces and the number of edges and vertices. Art Outcome: Recognize size relationships, near/far, over/under, different planes, i.e., foreground, background, mid-ground

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Grade 4 Activities:Paper SnowflakesHave students develop an understanding of radial symmetry by folding and cutting sheets of white paper to make complex snowflakes. Students will make a square out of their paper and fold the square so that their square becomes a triangle. They may fold this triangle again to make a smaller triangle and then use scissors to cut small ridges around the folded edges. When they open the paper, it will look like a snowflake! Help the students understand how the snowflake turns into a symmetrical object.You can find specific snowflake patterns on the following site: http://www.tongs-paper-cutting.com/Snowflake-Cutting-Patterns.html#.UuLsNKWsEy4

*Materials needed: paper, scissorsMath Outcome: SS5: Demonstrate an understanding of line symmetry by: drawing one or more lines of symmetry in a 2-D shape.Art Outcome: Manipulate and experiment with art materials such as pencils, paint, wax crayons, pastels, markers, computer software, paper, clay and paste. Create art works based on memory, imagination, and fantasy.

Reflection BugsStudents use the line of symmetry to make a reflection of their name. Fold a piece of paper and write your name on one side of the line. Refold the paper and trace your name on the other side. Then make the outline of the bug, connecting the letters of their name. Students can then decorate their bugs any way they want, but remember to keep it symmetrical!http://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.ca/2013/05/reflection-bugs-more-math-and-art.html

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*Materials needed: paper, pencil, crayons, markersMath Outcome: SS5: Demonstrate an understanding of line symmetry by: drawing one or more lines of symmetry in a 2-D shape.Art Outcome: Manipulate and experiment with art materials such as pencils, paint, wax crayons, pastels, markers, computer software, paper, clay and paste. Create art works based on memory, imagination, and fantasy.

String ArtThis activity provides students with an opportunity to practice their multiplication facts up to the 9’s times table. They will receive a circle template and a worksheet with multiplication questions. When the students have answered the questions on the worksheet, they will use their answers to create the stringed embroidery.

http://www.stringartfun.com/section.php/31/1/string-art-and-math---a-project-in-multiplication

*Materials needed: cardstock, one-holepunch, string

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Math Outcome: N5: Describe and apply mental mathematical strategies using patterns in the 9’s facts to determine basic multiplication facts to 9x9Art Outcome: Manipulate and experiment with art materials such as pencils, paint, wax crayons, pastels, markers, computer software, paper, clay and paste. Create art works based on memory, imagination, and fantasy.

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Grade Five Activities:Tangrams:(see grade 3 activity for outcomes)Tangrams can be created with varying degrees of difficulty. See Grade 3 description for more details.

*Materials needed: tangram paper templates (see handouts), tangrams

Sculptures: Before embarking on an art assignment of creating a 3-D sculpture, students could be asked to first draw the object on paper. This would require the student to calculate a scale of measurement that would be used to create the final product. A key would also be required to make the accurate transformation from drawing to sculpture.

*Materials needed: ruler, paper, pencil, cardstock, construction paper, glueMath Outcomes: SS2: Demonstrate an understanding of measuring length (mm and km) Art Outcomes : Demonstrate how the elements of art, e.g., colour, line texture, shape, can be manipulated to create unity and variety. Create art works based on memory, imagination, and

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fantasy.

Math Board Games: Students could be challenged to create their own board game, with the goal of teaching or reinforcing a math concept in a fun, interactive way. They would be required to use their imagination and creativity in the design of the game.

*Materials needed: bristol board, markers, cardstock, glue, index cards, cardboard, ruler Math Outcomes : SS2: Demonstrate an understanding of measuring length (mm and km) Art Outcomes: Demonstrate how the elements of art, e.g., colour, line texture, shape, can be manipulated to create unity and variety. Create art works based on memory, imagination, and fantasy.