Karyn's Blog

Family Math Night What Do You Notice? Poster

September 30, 2015 Karyn Comments 2 comments

So for this What Do You Notice? poster, I decided to tie in rectangular arrays with prime and composite numbers. That said, whatever math-y thing students notice is totally acceptable. For example, one student noticed that the “buildings” had square windows. Great. That’s a little bit of geometry. Another student noticed that each set of colored rectangles included the same number of squares. Again, great, as that required some counting and comparison. Just like the student who noticed that there are…

STEAM Family Math Night Collaborative Projects: Soccer Ball

September 27, 2015 Karyn Comments 2 comments

Get kids excited about science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) with this fun hands-on collaborative project. Typically done during a Family Math Night event, this project can also be done in the classroom. The best part is, each person is individually represented in the final product! Students will learn what makes a soccer ball through an introduction to 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional geometry. The lesson plan includes the mathematical background and useful vocabulary along with a link to the video…

Hook Them with Geometry

July 22, 2015 Karyn Comments 0 Comment

One of my goals for the beginning of the new school year was to get my students excited about math from the moment they walked in the door. To do this I started our math lessons in the area (no pun intended!) of geometry through hands-on activities and projects. I discovered that through allowing kids to design, create, and build – something all kids love – I could sneak in important ideas in math. But the other thing I discovered…

Gellin’ with Geometry Family Math Night

May 25, 2015 Karyn Comments 0 Comment

Our Gellin’ with Geometry Family Math Night kit is filled with fun, hands-on activities that get those creative STEAM skills a-flowin’.

Family Math Night Collaborative Project: Tetrahedral Kite

February 1, 2015 Karyn Comments 0 Comment

Here’s my latest Collaborative Project where participants create individual tetrahedrons that are used to build a tetrahedral kite. In the video I describe the steps of the project and show how to tie in the math and science. Click the image to the left to get the lesson plan. For more of these super fun collaborative projects, click here.