Creating a Work of M-Art?

Dr. Perdue’s work of M-Art.

In my last blog, I wrote about mathematics activities that are connected to literature.  

In this blog, I talk about mathematics activities that are connected to art. 

Specifically, I want to share an activity that a colleague and dear friend of mine, Dr. Robin A. Ward, conducted with a group of second grade students and that I then used in an activity with my pre-service teacher college students. 

In this activity, students are asked to create their own works of M-Art (Mathematics-related Art) after examining a work from the cubist movement.

We start with a master: Picasso.  This is Pablo Picasso's The Reservoir, Horta de Ebro, 1909. (I know, my attempt above doesn't even come close! Just enjoy this tremendous work of art for a few moments before continuing.)

The Reservoir, Horta de Ebro.jpg This image is from MoMa’s online collection (given in the references).

Credit to MoMa's amazing online collection for this image (link in the references section).

I mentioned in one of my previous blogs about MOOC's that I have taken several classes.  One in particular, Art and Inquiry - Museum Teaching Strategies for your Classroom, was excellent and I recommend it highly.  In that course, I learned many strategies that helped me in creating the Art Exploration assignment I used with my students.  One of these strategies is the notion of "close looking" and the act of asking students to simply look at the work of art for several minutes without speaking.  Another strategy is the use of open-ended questions like, "What do you notice?" (under the observation category)or "What do you see that reminds you of something in your own life?" (in the prior knowledge category).

Dr. Ward utilizes similar strategies in her work with children in connecting mathematics and art.  Here's a description of the activity she did with a group of second graders:

Second graders recently donned their math goggles and engaged in a geometry exploration using the visual arts as a lens.

Students learned about the Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and used his “The Reservoir, Horta de Ebro” (1909) as a springboard to exploring two- and three-dimensional shapes.

Using shape templates, rulers, and colored pencils, students created their own Picasso-inspired cubist artwork and discovered how three-dimensional solids are created using two-dimensional shapes.

Second grade teachers then transformed a school hallway into an art gallery, showcasing their students’ mathematical masterpieces.


This became the basis for the Art Exploration assignment I gave to the group of college-age students who are training to become elementary and middle school teachers.  In it, I ask them to review the children's works of M-Art, discussing the geometry concepts that were learned, along with their ideas about how they would assess the student's work if they were the teacher.  They were also required to create their own Picasso-inspired work of M-Art as part of the assignment.  I decided to fully participate and tried my hand as well (demonstrated by the opening graphic).  I encourage you to do the same! (Pattern block template link is given in the VoiceThread below.)

Instructions for the Art Exploration assignment.

These are the instructions I gave to my students: (Click on the image to zoom to full size.) 

I chose VoiceThread as the educational technology tool because it is open-source and lends itself nicely to art-related activities.

Here is the VoiceThread that my students created.

Here is a slide show with samples of my students works of M-Art:

allison_artashlyn_artelisabeth_artemily_artgabrielle_artjade_artjanelle_artjessica_artkendall_artlindsay_artlindsey_artsarah_art

As always, I'd love to hear from you. 

References:

MoMa wonderful online collection of art

VoiceThread - a fantastic, open-source edtech tool that's great for M-Art

Link to the Art Exploration VoiceThread (which includes the second-graders works of M-Art)

The series, "Literature-Based Activities for Integrating Mathematics with Other Content Areas" by Dr. Robin A. Ward.

Math Goggles site.

Math Goggles Facebook page.

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The Solver Blog

Author:  Dr. Diana S. Perdue

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