Making Mobiles Brings Opportunities to Build and Enhance Student Understanding of Math Concepts
Seedlings' math facilitator and Fourth Grade Teacher Denise Quinn walks us through all the ways in which to find math in art and nature.
Ask many an artist and they will tell you art and math can go hand in hand. Art in all forms incorporates perspective, proportion, balance, measurement, and more. Artistic creations offer a fun, hands-on, student driven approach for learning and applying math concepts. Seedlings’ math facilitator and fourth grade teacher Denise Quinn has been showing Seedlings workshop attendees how to find math in everyday nature and art (and beyond) for many years. Each summer, Denise walks teachers through all the ways in which math, when viewed through the lens of art and nature, can be approachable, accessible, relatable and applicable for students and teachers alike.
Creating mobiles is one such project that lends itself well to middle and upper elementary school math. The activity allows students to apply math in a way that’s relevant to them as they design and build their mobile. Mobiles can be built from a variety of materials, including natural materials like small stones, acorns, shells, and twigs. As students consider and collect materials they will be using for their mobiles, encourage them to think about the weight of the objects they are selecting to include in their mobiles.
Estimating, Weight Distributions & Balancing Equations
Mobiles are really about weight distribution, so before students start planning their mobiles, encourage them to find items of equal weight to one another, or when combined, equal the weight of another object they want to use. For instance, if a student selects a rock to include in their mobile, they likely might find another similar rock to balance the mobile on the other side. Alternatively, students could decide that they want to include some shells or acorns, and depending on the type and size of shell, students may find that they need two or more lighter objects to balance the one rock.
Consider having a kitchen scale or a balance scale available so students can test their estimates of object weights. You can make a homemade balance scale by using something as simple as a clothes hanger and two disposable cups connected with twine (equal lengths) or a shallow box top with a soup can attached to the bottom of the box.
Ask students, “What do you wonder?” Or “What do you observe?” As students are considering different objects to include in their mobiles, this is a great time to talk about concepts such as weight distribution, dimensions, volume, and mass, as well as basic algebra. Some students may make the connection that objects do not have to be the same dimensions or size to weigh the same; in fact, some objects of the same size may way vastly different from one another. For instance, a whiffle ball and a baseball are about the same size, but the baseball will be much heavier. As students are balancing their mobiles, there will naturally be questions like, if you have 1 rock (R), how many shells (S) will it take to equal the weight of one rock? Depending on your grade level, this could lead up to introducing algebra, which is all about balancing equations.
Data Analysis, Graphing & Percentages
Other Concepts to Integrate with Art
Tips & Considerations
- Having pre-project discussions and mini demonstrations helps students build their math vocabulary and understanding.
- Take pictures of student art projects, print them out and put them in vinyl page protectors. Students can use dry erase markers to identify shapes, fractions, or map out their algebraic equations.
- Consider also weaving in inspiration from artists like the sculptor Alexander Calder, who is known for his innovative mobiles.
- You may want to give students a small water bottle for them to measure against, encouraging them to find objects that feel like they are about the same weight as the water bottle or bean bag.
