5th Grade Math Collaboration

Math Mosaics is a collaboration between the content disciplines of math and art in the 5th grade classroom. Math lessons were guided by an adaptation of Marilyn Burn's inquiry based Algebra lesson "The Function Machine". Students used a T chart to discover the the equation behind a set of patterned numbers. Students then made their own equations that their fellow classmates had to discover the equation (the rule) with the clues with the clues of stage #'s and the end of total numbers of shapes. Then, students made a tile mosaic to illustrate their math problem.

The Mosaic panels helped to deepen the student's understanding of relationships of patterns behind their mathematical reasoning. It gave a visual understanding to an abstract concept.

Example #1