From the JY Numeracy Coordinator
Junior Years Mathematics
Using mathematics in art opens doors to new ideas, beautiful and captivating creations.
On the 14th of March, the International Day of Mathematics will be celebrated worldwide. The theme for 2025 is Mathematics, Art, and Creativity! It celebrates the creativity found in mathematical discovery and art, showcasing the harmony of logic and imagination, where numbers dance with colors, equations sculpt beauty, and ideas transcend boundaries to inspire and innovate.
This year’s creative challenge is constructing mathematical elements using everyday physical objects (such as household items, objects from nature, or even people). Use your artistry and creativity to make sculptures that bring Mathematics off the page and into the real world!
You could consider creating mathematical elements such as:
- geometrical shapes,
- patterns or sequences,
- formulas,
- numbers and mathematical symbols,
- curves and spirals,
- magic squares and other mathematical puzzles,
- tessellations,
- and more…
… using everyday things like
- forks, spoons, and other kitchen utensils,
- coins, keys, and buttons,
- books, pencils, paperclips, and rubber bands,
- twigs, leaves, and pebbles from outside,
- socks, shoelaces, and other clothing items,
- toothpicks, and modeling clay,
- dry pasta, nuts, and candy,
- your friends and family,
- and anything else that you can think of…
Here are 2 examples:
Send Mrs Jeymour your creations at kylie.jeymour@dow.catholic.edu.au.
This week we have a spotlight on the young Mathematicians in Year 3. They have just finished a week on Time, working towards telling the time to the minute on analog clocks.
Each lesson began with students constructing their own circular analog clock on a blank Brenex circle to show a given time. Misconceptions and inaccuracies in the spatial arrangement of numbers and the incorrect placement and proportion of the hour and minute hands were discussed and then refined each time the activity was completed.
The images below show the growth of 2 students across the week:
Each of the Year 3 Maths classes had the opportunity to apply their knowledge of time to a game of Bingo! Students were challenged to listen to a time expressed as ‘past the hour’ or ‘towards the hour’ and then find the matching analog time on their bingo sheet. E.g. ‘half past ten’ matched the first clock below and ‘a quarter to eleven’ matched the second clock.
Mrs Khoury’s class enjoying their game of Bingo!
As their final task, Year 3 were asked to create a diagram, poster, letter or video to teach this year’s Year 2 how to tell the time when they come to Year 3 next year.
Well done Year 3!