AESTHETIC GEOMETRY.

Is aesthetics part of geometry? It certainly was in the seventh grade math and art classes at Tower Heights Middle School. In fact, students were enthusiastically scrambling to visually define geometry in the format of a photographic scavenger hunt.

A math workshop offered through the Polaroid Education Program and a local math organization was the inspiration for our project. The workshop illustrated a mathematical Polaroid Scavenger Hunt which used cooperative groups and Polaroid cameras to illustrate geometric vocabulary.

The project was originally a high school scavenger hunt, but revisions were made to harness the enthusiasm of our seventh grade students. We targeted this grade level because the concepts and terms covered in both the math and art curricula were most appropriate for this type of activity. The project focused on using the concept of artistic composition to create more effective and interesting definitions of geometric concepts. Another goal of the project was a final artistic compilation of students' photographs and cooperative decision-making.

To launch this project we needed Polaroid cameras. Since the cost was beyond both the math and art budgets, we were able to apply for and receive a grant from the Centerville Washington Township Education Foundation, a local, community-supported foundation. The grant covered the cost of ten Polaroid cameras and enough reduced priced film offered through the Polaroid Education Program, for two art and two math classes.

We began developing our presentation for our students. A visual presentation that would encompass both the geometric and art concepts was the most effective stimulation for such a visual project. Power Point software allowed us to scan and display illustrative examples of effective composition and geometric definitions.

Teaming Up

We introduced this project to the students in the math and art classes. Our Power Point presentation was team-taught in both the math and art classes since our principal provided us with release time. We explained the activity and reviewed the math and art vocabulary and concepts with the students. Students spent time taking notes on their scavenger hunt recording sheet to help them remember unfamiliar terms. A discussion followed on how to use their new composition techniques to create various effects with the camera.

On the second day, the students divided into their groups of two or three people and began taking their required ten pictures from the seventeen possible categories. Students earned points in each category based on the assumed difficulty of finding the objects and creating the required composition.

Using a designated area outside of the school building, each group decided which items to photograph to give them the most points possible. Any picture taken of a naturally occurring object that satisfied the conditions of the category doubled the possible points. Because we were sharing our ten cameras among four classes, we suggested that each group take only five photographs per day.

The enthusiasm was high! By the third day, most groups were prepared to shoot their five photos as soon as they entered class. Students had been noticing potential pictures on their way into school and during lunch time. In one class photo shoot, a school bus arrived. Students immediately swarmed around it excitedly looking for symmetry, geometric shapes, perspective, and figures within active compositions. Students, trying to achieve the photo's correct composition, could be found lying on the ground and standing on benches. They quickly learned that communication and cooperation were the keys to a successful completion of the scavenger hunt. As students finished taking their ten pictures, they began the final phase of the project: the visual presentation and written description of their photographs. A variety of media was used to create the final project. The direction for me finished piece was left open-ended. The only requirement was that the pictures should be labeled to correspond with which question they answered. I gave small demonstrations on techniques such as bookmaking and scanning photos into the computer. I provided colored construction paper, wire, string, glue, markers, and other materials to encourage creativity. The results were varied and very interesting. Handmade books, mobiles, sculptures, mystery games, and Power Point computer presentations were popular formats. The finished projects were displayed in the instructional media center and the artroom.

Meaningful, captivating, and connection-building activities are hard to find for the middle school student. The Aesthetic Geometry Scavenger Hunt combined good mathematics instruction with good art instruction. It was fun, educational, and accessible for students of varying levels of ability.

RELATED ARTICLE: Assessment

There were two means of assessing this activity. Students received:

1. A total point grade for each photograph's contents, as explained on the scavenger hunt sheet.

2. A rubric-scored grade for the artistic visual presentation of their work. In judging the value of this project, students and teachers overwhelmingly agreed they both enjoyed and learned from the experience.

As we look toward our planning for next year, both students and staff agreed that this should become a permanent part of the seventh grade experience. We need to find ways to fund the cost of the Polaroid film. While we might be able to get some funds from our Parent Teacher Organization, asking each student to bring $1.00 to cover film costs seems like a better long-term solution.

RELATED ARTICLE: No Cameras, No Problem

Adaptations of this project for schools without Polaroid cameras might include:

a) having students scavenge through magazines, the internet, and newspapers to find pictures that satisfy the given categories

b) having students design a sculpture or collage project that incorporates a set number of the given categories as integral parts of the design

RELATED ARTICLE: NATIONAL STANDARD

Students describe ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines taught in the school are interrelated with the visual arts.

Katherine Coy Smith is an art teacher and Bonnie Thompson is a math teacher at Tower Heights Middle School in Centerville, Ohio.