Mondrian and Math
Purpose:
Piet Mondrian is best known for his abstract geometric paintings.
His artwork is a wonderful place to introduce children to how math and art can
be very good friends. In fact, art without math can be a bit of a mess. Imagine
a building whose architect didn’t measure properly, or Michelangelo’s paintings
on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel without geometry or perspective. There are
many ways to approach a math lesson using Mondrian as your inspiration.
Materials:
Samples of Mondrian’s artwork and biographical information.
Rulers
Pencils
Graph paper
Drawing paper
Construction paper
Crayons, markers, paint
· These are general supplies the materials list
will vary according to the lesson plan you are following
Below is a sample of what a project might look like.
Click on the images of Mondrian's paintings below for links to websites that offer Mondrian Math Lessons.
Personal Reflection:
Math doesn't always make sense to everyone. Sometimes children (and adults) need to experience math outside of numbers. For me art is the logical way to introduce math in a non-math way. I also love the idea of crossing the curriculum and showing children the connections that the subjects have with one another. Learning shouldn't be so compartmentalized.
I really enjoy this idea. I was not a big fan, nor was I very good at either math or art but I love how this idea incorporates two subjects that probably aren't seen together very often. Bringing things in the classroom that keep students involved and interested is the most important thing for me. I was a kid who needed hands on, fun and engaging material or all my attention was focused on the clock or the bird outside of the window. I'm not trying to say I'm only trying to teach kids like me but I do know what I was like as a kid so I try and base my lessons off myself. Even though I'm not he biggest art fan I can say that I much rather learn math in this way then by just listening to a teacher stand in front of the classroom and talk.
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ReplyDeleteAmanda, I love this! In seventh or eighth grade I remember my math teacher had us choose a drawing, painting or cartoon of our choice. We printed it out small and we were tasked to draw it on a larger scale. I remember drawing a grid over my cartoon and then I could draw the picture to scale by focusing on one square at a time square. I believe we were learning rations, but I could be mistaken.
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea. What a great way to combine math and art. I really like the idea of using graph paper for the project. As students advance in mathematics they will use graph paper for graphs, charts, and the coordinate plane. I can picture a lesson like this when students are learning about the coordinate plane in 5th grade. They could label each quadrant, draw their pattern in all four quadrants, then color each quadrant a different color or a combination of colors. To finish their project, they would provide a key to each quadrant and a short explanation of why they chose the colors they did as they move from quadrant to quadrant.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your creative feedback-Marlee
DeleteHi Amanda! I really enjoyed your post and loved how creative it was! -Marlee
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