The Science Spot

	Host a Bug Festival! Click to learn more .. Also available ... Nature Center Main Page Nature Center Lessons Nature Center - Ecology Lesson Plan Links Our Helping Hands 8th Grade Class of 2010 Mrs. McDaniel's Class Mrs. Carter's Class Matt Pratt The Science Spot Havana Junior High Project Leaders Tracy (Trimpe) Tomm Becky Sennett Joni Pratt Cheryl McDaniel Sue Hallmark
Interactive Math Garden
The Interactive Math Garden was developed in Spring 2010 as a new addition to our Nature Center. It was been designed with specific features that could be used for math lessons at each grade level. Students had the opportunity to explore real-world applications of math in the world around them. To fund the project, we received a $500 grant from the Logan, Mason, Menard Regional Office of Education, along with generous donations from our Helping Hands (see list at right) provided the resources to fund this project. Eighth-grade students and Science Club members provided the man power needed to create the math garden and its features. Sadly, our math garden was condensed into our established garden areas as funding was cut to maintain the expanded garden area. The lessons provided below will hopefully inspire other math gardens in other schools who can expand on our ideas. Also available ... Photo Gallery (Start to Finish) Math Garden Layout (pdf) Math Garden Goals • To create an outdoor classroom providing numerous stations for hands-on math lessons targeting state learning standards. • To foster an appreciation for the natural world. • To provide opportunities for stewardship for our students. Math Garden Features & Lessons Planting Beds Landscaping timbers have been used to create a square, rectangle, pentagon, and hexagon for perimeter, area, and angle measurement lessons. The planting bed areas have been filled with various flowers and shrubs for math activities related to height, distribution, symmetry and data analysis of seeds and flowers. Lessons: Estimatation Challenge - Students measure their hands, feet, and stride to help them estimate the permiter of the planting beds in the gardenb. The download provides worksheets for both metric and English units. Powerpoints for each lesson are also available (metric or English) Figure This - Students use the planting beds for a lesson related to measurements, perimeter, and area. Sunflower, Watermelon, & Pumpkin Patches Students planted various seeds to grow flowers and fruits that can be used for data collection and estimation lessons. Lesson: Sunflower Math Challenge - Students use sunflowers for measurement, perimeter, and area lessons. They are also challenged to estimate the number of seeds on their sunflower. Memorial Tree The memorial tree and others will be used for lessons related to similar triangles (determining height.) Shape Sculptures & Mobiles Various 3-dimensional shapes (cubes, boxes, cylinders, cones, etc.) and mobiles will be made from plastic shapes and displayed around the pergola and memorial tree for geometry-based lessons. Lesson: Shape Sorter - Students use shape mobiles for measurement, perimeter, and area lessons. They also use the shapes to investigate angles and other relationships between polygons. Stepping Stone Axis Students created the x- and y-axis of a coordinate plane by painting numbers on bricks placed in between rectangular pavers. The coordinate plane will be used for graphing and geometry activities. Garden Borders The South garden border will be decorated with number lines for various counting and computation activities. The North garden Border will be decorated with metric and English rulers for use with measurement activities. The East and West borders will be decorated with various mathematical formulas, shapes, and angles that will be used for lessons in the garden. Resources: The Mini Math Cards will also be used to create a set of reference cards for students to use in the classroom and the garden. A larger Mega Math Card is also available. Weather Station Students will use the weather station to collect data for lessons in math and science classes. Sundial Students will learn how sundials are used to estimate the time and investigate related math and science concepts. A great sundial lesson is available at the Eye on the Sky website. Other great ideas are to create a Human Sundial or make sundial wristwatches. Check out our Photo Gallery (Start to Finish)... If you have any questions about the Interactive Math Garden project, please contact Mrs. Tracy (Trimpe) Tomm, project coordinator! \| Back to top \|

The Science Spot was developed in March 1999 by Tracy Tomm Science Teacher @ Havana Junior High, Havana, IL. Activities, lessons, & worksheets available on any page of this web site are intended for use by a single teacher in his/her classroom or to share at educational conferences. Reproduction for commercial use or profit is not permitted without the consent of Tracy (Trimpe) Tomm. Visit my Frequently Asked Questions page for more details.

Interactive Math Garden