The Drawing of Maths

Not all students are confident with numbers, yet can still demonstrate their mathematical ability and understandings through other avenues.

Over the years I have become more aware of students that may otherwise be deemed as 'struggling' in maths, to be able to display considerable skill and creativity through drawing.

This is an activity that I did a lot of when I was a child, but then my brother and I used brightly coloured string and nails on a piece of wood that was painted black.

We managed to come up with so many designs very similar to these, and we really enjoyed it.

So, something I love to do with my maths is to find ways to include things that were, or are my passions and to make use of them where possible.

In this activity we are able to draw the lines on paper in such a way that the combination of gradually moving straight lines, creates a curved effect.

Added to this is the result of combining colours and density of colours for added effect.

When doing this, I have found that we cannot take for granted many of the basic motor skills required.

• How to measure with a ruler.

• How to draw a line with a pencil and ruler

• How to hold a pencil, and manipulate what it can do

Getting the basics...

To start off with, we drew a cross on the page, as seen in the first video.

So, with these basics in mind, all we need to do is the same process for each section...

Where to from here then?

Once your students have mastered the basic skills of drawing the lines, and where to place them, it's time to introduce further shapes. I always emphasise here that new shapes do not mean increased difficulty. It just means that they are using their already developed skills in different ways.

Now we are at the really exciting stage of the lesson, where the kids are let loose with their own creativity and exploration!

Watch how they come up with different patterns, shapes and designs, and how they experiment with colour and density.

I suppose that the exciting part can be at any stage of the lesson. Last week it was great to see how thrilled one boy was when he discovered that he could rule straight lines with his ruler without it slipping across the page. Another girl was so excited when she saw how her colours worked so well together.

So here are a few that I whipped up this afternoon, just to show what can be done just by mixing a few colours.

The next step is to mix up shapes, and combine a few shapes in the one design.

To get the real 'WOW' factor, get the kids to look at their work from a distance, it really blows their mind as they see it differently from how they see it up close.

They will see patterns with lines and colours more readily, and the shapes are more defined.

An added bonus, which a few of the class did last week, was to colour in the gaps between the lines, once more using patterns with colours as well.

In this activity alone, you will find your children exploring aspects of length, fractions, counting, place value, measurement, shape and geometry just to name a few.

Just to draw the triangle created a teaching moment as we needed to ensure that the apex was in line with the midpoint of the base.

Having said that, what is to stop you from drawing non-uniform shapes and applying the same principles? Go for it!!!

This can be a closed task if you want, or, like me, you make it as open ended as you like. You be the judge, but above all, have fun!!