Natural Math Activity Sparks

Natural Math has made these one-page activity guides for parents and kids to try activities that give insight into math concepts.

• How You Slice It (opens new window): Use your X-Ray vision on different patterns to see how a whole is made of different parts. From this viewpoint you can see how different building blocks lead to different outcomes. Is one slicing technique simpler than others? More fair? More predictable? More fun? Let’s find out.
• Make Shapes with Sticks (opens new window): Make models using integration, and learn to see flat 2D shapes as made from straight 1D lines. You can use craft sticks, matchsticks, toothpicks, or strips of paper to make your shapes. Can every shape be made from sticks? Are there hidden techniques to make complex shapes from simple lines?
• What would a 3D Printer Do? (opens new window) Choose any object and ask: How would a 3D printer build it? How would it grow in nature? How would you make it with crafts? We can train our skills in thinking with analogies. In music, we can play the same song in different styles (rock, jazz, classical, rap). Calculus lets us “remix” an object by building it different ways.
• Mosaics: 2D to 2D (opens new window):  Let’s learn how to approximate curves with straight lines, and try to fill and measure complex shapes. You can use anything that is flat enough: craft foam, construction paper, sticky notes, tiles, fusible beads, or LEGO bricks. How can small pieces come together to show a larger image? Do grids help or hurt your project? Can you make a circle out of squares? Let’s find out.