About this Daily Classroom Special
Button Math was written by Ed Clement, former Teachers
Network web mentor and a teacher in the Chicago public school system
for more than twenty six years.
Button
Math
-
For
kids in 3rd through 8th grade.
-
Build
reading and math skills.
-
Learn
how to follow written directions
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Your students learn how to operate computers as they draw pictures, make pin-on buttons, and solve math problems.
BASIC STEPS
-
Make or purchase
enough Cartesian coordinate grids for your class.
-
Draw simple
pictures on the grid that require making lines, circles, angles
and arcs.(I use a picture of a house, a snow man and a ship.
-
Create a sequential
set of ruler, compass and protractor steps needed to make each
picture.(Make enough copies for each student or group of students.)
-
Have the students
follow the directions and make the simplest of the drawings on
a grid.
-
Repeat steps
4 until all the pictures have been made.
-
Have students
make a 2 1/4 inch circle on a piece of paper.
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Have students
practice the line, circle, angle and arc skills they learned making
the grid pictures to make pictures of their own design inside
the circle.
-
Have students
color and cut out the pictures made in step 7. Make them into
buttons that the students can give as gifts or keep for themselves.
(The machines to make the buttons start at sixty dollars and button
hardware costs about twenty-five cents a button.)
For more information
on purchasing the button making machines and button hardware
contact Badge-A-Minit at
www.badgeaminit.com or
phone them at 800-223-4103.
HIGH TECH STEPS
-
Make or purchase
enough Cartesian coordinate grids for your class.
-
Create an
example by drawing simple pictures on a grid. Your pictures should
require making lines, circles, angles and arcs. (I use a picture
of a house, a snowman and a ship.)
-
Create a sequential
set of ruler, compass and protractor steps needed to make each
picture. (Make enough copies for each student or group of students.)
-
Create a sequential
set of computer steps needed to reproduce the drawings on a computer
drawing program. (I use Paint because it comes free with Windows,
but there are plenty of commercial drawing products available.)
Make enough copies for each student or group of students.
-
Have the students
follow the directions and make the simplest of the drawings on
a grid.
-
Have the students
follow the directions and make the simplest of the drawings on
the computer drawing program.
-
Repeat steps
5 and 6 until all the pictures have been made.
-
Have students
make a 2 ¼ inch circle on a computer drawing program.
-
Have students
practice their newly learned computer drawing skills to make grid
pictures or free hand pictures of their own design inside their
circles.
-
Print out
the pictures made in step 9 and make them into buttons that the
students can give as gifts or keep for themselves. (See above
for more information about machines and button hardware.)
Needs
List
SIMPLE |
HIGH TECH |
- Cartesian
coordinate grids
- Paper
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Compass
- Protractor
- Crayons
- Button
machines
- Button
parts
|
- Same
as simple, plus:
- Computer
loaded with computer drawing program (I use Windows Paint)
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