There is no doubt our Bayou teacher Amber has a passion for sewing and crafting! She is the leader of our middle school sewing club, makerspace club, and craft club. She is often talking about her latest home project and craft she’s working on in the staff lounge.
Amber was able to share this passion with all of her 3rd graders during math class.
In third grade math, students are introduced to multiplication to describe the measurement of area. As a way to apply their skills, they designed a 12”x12” quilt square and determined the area of each fabric they chose.
As a class they used reasoning to discuss the best dimensions for the quilt. They decided that a quilt that is 1’x15’ does not make for a good blanket and instead chose a 3’x5’ arrangement of their squares. Amber assembled the squares and final quilt. The finished quilt will be donated after the students get to enjoy it first.
This engaging, hands-on project is an example of using a progressive education lens to creatively think about ways to teach math. When students apply math in real-life contexts it helps them construct their knowledge in deeper and more meaningful ways. The students used math to problem solve a real life scenario. The project allowed for an integration of design, geometry, multiplication, addition, measurement, reason, collaboration, and care for other human beings.
