Embedded Files
CIRCLE FLOWER FACTS
CIRCLE FLOWER FACTS
The closest thing to the original concept of "Circle Math Facts"... add a stem and a leaf and you got yourself a flower. All the other templates built on this simple foundation.
(just) FLOWER FACTS
(just) FLOWER FACTS
The next step and the most popular template. Simple... to the point, but just a little prettier than the the "circle" flower. This one had so many examples to choose from... hard to pick just three...
JUST PEN
JUST PEN
I suggest this only to my most adventurous math-artists. Using black and white to create "color" is like using trigonometry to create addition... see what I did there?
CACTUS
CACTUS
My southwestern roots... if I used my current northwestern roots, I would run out of gray crayon pretty quickly.
DIGITAL CLOCK
DIGITAL CLOCK
Kids seem to love this one... even though they have never seen a digital clock like this... my first alarm clock had those little half numbers that flipped over... state of the art.
FILLED and PRETTY
FILLED and PRETTY
Filling the petals with number and color. Super hard to read, but so pretty.
MATH FACTBOT 3000
MATH FACTBOT 3000
Another popular choice (I always have four or five templates for the kids to choose from). This one takes longer than most of the others and works better with sharp colored pencils more than crayons.
BRIGHT and WIGGY
BRIGHT and WIGGY
When you do enough of these, interesting color combinations pop up all the time. Another benefit of using UN-Art is connecting color and the color-wheel to math.
UMM...LIGHTENING
UMM...LIGHTENING
Playing with shapes... asking kids to think and plan out what their numbers could look like can lead to fascinating results.
STONE
STONE
Texture is tough for young-uns, but if you have the time, amazing things can happen. Always remember that the point is to spend enough time on the work to solidify the actual math facts.
FIRE and ICE
FIRE and ICE
Playing with literal translations of "Warm" and "Cold" colors. Look at all the possible connections... for a glorified times table. These create Math Muscle Memory!
BALLOON FACTS
BALLOON FACTS
Just riffing on the circle theme... There are a LOT of circle-type shapes out there that you can play with. I have only scratched the surface.
FONE FACTS
FONE FACTS
Very designy, and younger kids will accuse you of poor spelling no matter how many times you explain alliteration and creative license... maybe you should have gone with "Phone Phacts?"
ROMAN NUMERALS
ROMAN NUMERALS
So much easier to do with SMALL numbers.
NUMBER GUYS
NUMBER GUYS
A wonderfully creative 5th grader came up with these based on a YouTube show. Yes, you can put eyes and a mouth on ANYTHING!
contrast gradient
contrast gradient
A little more sophisticated... maybe. Some diagonal gradient action happening. Kids like phones... anything works.
STAR FACTS
STAR FACTS
Trying to make star shapes more blobby to accommodate easier number placement, and don't get me started on those little moons. Still, the space theme is a big hit with the target audience, and there are so many fun discussions about math and space while you are working with the little guys... the discussions are the most important part of the whole process.
DUODECTOPUS FACTS
DUODECTOPUS FACTS
I think coloring in the word "DUODECTOPUS" is worth the price of admission alone. The school I work at has a very SEA life vibe, and I work in the "OCTOPOD." No brainer.
BUTTERFLY FACTS
BUTTERFLY FACTS
Landscape. Who doesn't like BUTTERFLIES? I really struggled to make the equals signs for this one. Version 2 will be a definite upgrade... promise.
UMBRELLA FACTS
UMBRELLA FACTS
It's a northwest thing. I tried to get that perfect bird's eye view of rain dripping off a center umbrella and forming twelve number accommodating puddles. Maybe "PUDDLE" facts?
ROMAN NUMERALS II
ROMAN NUMERALS II
See... this got hard even with a TWO. Some kids want to try this with NINES... really need to make small numbers. The challenge keeps them going.
COLORS OF ROYALTY
COLORS OF ROYALTY
Love the ones where we don't try to put any extra ink on the page... just colored pencil... pure.
"FACT" WORKS
"FACT" WORKS
There IS a version 2.0 for this... I just can't find it for this picture. The downloadable file will have a smaller center space and bigger outer spaces... this design did NOT test well with 4th graders (They really wanted to put in their own middle numbers). Yay for failing!
BAT FACTS
BAT FACTS
My comic book influences were bound to take over eventually. The Commissioner Gordon figure on the roof was not recognized by many.
SPIDER FACTS
SPIDER FACTS
More comic-booky goodness. I was going to run this through some design software, but then left it in its "hand-drawn" state. Messy, but a lot of kids still dug it.
ALGORITHM HANDOUTS
ALGORITHM HANDOUTS
These were created from a need I noticed with 4th and 5th graders doing word problems and struggling to identify which algorithm to use. I struggled to find the right combination of words, since teachers tend to use their favorites, and the standard words that I never really learned in the sixties and seventies have not stood the test of time. Not sure if this is a NEW math thing or just a my particular group of teachers thing, but this is what I came up with.
Again, for me, the key is not so much the content of the sheet, but how long the kids WANT to ENGAGE with the sheet. The Handout version is more artistically appealing to me, but the coloring version gives the kids another reason to engage and make it their own.
I am slowly learning that my style is so much more "MESSY" than the stuff teachers are using either from third party curriculum distributors or teacher support sites on the web. Frankly, I find the stuff most schools use to be homogenous and... boring. It's like they took the style from Schoolhouse Rock and froze it in time. I loved Schoolhouse Rock, but do we really think that kids today are EXACTLY the same as kids in the seventies? I still have a very cartoony style, but I hope that the "messiness" might mix up some visual cues just a little. Variety is a thing.
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