Illusion Line Art
At the end of the school year during state testing I have must students do projects that do not require any kind of math content to complete them. I show them step by step how to complete the drawings. I allow them as many sheets of paper they need to finish it to their liking!
First, I have them turn their paper landscape and draw a wavy line across the paper. They also need to add an even number of dots. They do not want to evenly space them or it won't look right. They also do NOT want an ODD number of dots or again it won't look right. I also suggest using about 8 or 12 dots. Less than 8 will make the columns really wide and hard to control the lines. More than 12 will make them very skinny but you can still handle them. I have drawn one and snapped pictures at each step I show my students. Once they finish one side, they just flip the paper and do the same process on the other side to complete the drawing.
Below are some various ones I have started and some I have completed as examples for my students. In the past for some of my drawing challenged students, I have made a copy of one of mine and let them just color it. I did not do that this year. I made them redo it until they got it sort of correct.
4 Color Problem
Years ago, a friend of mine from college, created an activity based on the 4 Color Problem. I was looking for my masters from him and I guess over the years I have misplaced them some where. So when I got to school this morning, I created somethin similar, but wanted it to be on a one page front and back so I didn't have to use more paper.
I gave out the sheet to my students and read through the basic directions. I explained to them how any map can be colored with just 4 colors, which they don't believe me really until they color there own. I also explain how they MUST plan out ahead of time how they are going to color rather than trial and error. Coloring over another color makes things messy!!
Below is the uncolored WS along with some student samples. Click here for the file.
I gave out the sheet to my students and read through the basic directions. I explained to them how any map can be colored with just 4 colors, which they don't believe me really until they color there own. I also explain how they MUST plan out ahead of time how they are going to color rather than trial and error. Coloring over another color makes things messy!!
Below is the uncolored WS along with some student samples. Click here for the file.
Online Scavenger Hunt
For most of the school year we are 1 to 1 with students. They all have iPad mini's and we run almost everything through google classroom and what not. Well since we are near the end of school, iPad's have been collected and the only way we can complete this activity is by making a trip to the computer lab. I believe next year we will have a floating Chromebook lab and the following year we should be transitioning to Chromebooks for middle and HS in our county and the elementary will get the iPad's. I'm excited to go to Chromebooks although it will be a change and learning process for me to convert how I do things to a laptop rather than an iPad.
Always, this scavenger hunt is more of a time filler, but students enjoy it and learn some interesting facts about math they didn't know. Click here for the file. It needs to be a doc so they can edit it.
Always, this scavenger hunt is more of a time filler, but students enjoy it and learn some interesting facts about math they didn't know. Click here for the file. It needs to be a doc so they can edit it.
Graphing Calculator Scavenger Hunt
We do not use graphing calculators in 8th grade unless they are in Geometry, which I did not teach this year. We thought it would be a good idea to have them get on them before they get to 9th grade and mess around with them! The link below is to the scavenger hunt we are using. I don't know how long it is going to take most of my students, so I copied all 3 pages and I will see how much they get done. I'll try to come back and post pictures of my students work after they have completed it.
Click here for the link to the file.
Click here for the link to the file.