January Group Post - Art and Math TOGETHER

Over the past three years, I have been involved with a Math Grant through the Minnesota Art's Board. It is called Math SmARTs. I have been working with another teacher and several Saint Cloud Artists (Tile and Dance) to create lessons that infuse art into math. This has been a great opportunity for myself and my students. Students are able to see that math is everywhere. The sessions are split into dance and tile lessons. During the dance lessons students use their bodies to create 3-D and 2-D shapes, Equilateral shapes, symmetry and asymmetrical movements. They are counting as they are moving and using "math" vocabulary the entire time. Movement is so important, especially for our kinesthetic learners. The students have a deep understanding of how their bodies are shapes and geometrical figures. The visual art lessons explain that math has been present in architecture for thousands of years. The students create real tiles that show symmetry, intersections and midpoints. They also create a tile that is split into seven pieces making a tangram. They use rulers to measure and create their tiles. Using math in creative ways has been eye opening for my students. I will continue to use the strategies that I have learned from this grant, when the money runs out. It is so beneficial for our students to use their bodies to create shapes and movement. I also believe that exposing them to why/how math is used in the real world is beneficial.