Student Instructions
Math can be beautiful and fun to look at. We are going to look at Optical Art, where the pattern and design trick your eyes into seeing movement or things that aren't really there. It's called an optical illusion.
1. ๐ Look at the photo of the three black and white optical art pieces. Do you see anything in the patterns that cause an optical illusion? What happens as you stare at each image?
2. Tap the add button.
3. :drawing" Use the drawing tool and the 100-square grid to create your own interesting pattern.
4. ๐ค Can you see any patterns, fractions, or decimals in your artwork? How would you describe your art using math?
5. ๐ฎ Share your drawing with a family member. Do they see anything when they look at your design? Does your math explanation help them see it in a new way?
6. Choose a tool to talk about your drawing and answer the questions above.
8.
Tap the check to save.
Optional: You can try this again and again to see what illusions you can create as well as think of new math questions about your designs! With adult permission you can also look-up the history behind optical illusions.
Family Why: Math and art can go hand in hand and creating an optical illusion is fun! Watch as your child comes up with new designs and thinks through how to talk about it using math language as well.
Adapted from work by Jo Boaler, Michael Jarry-Shore & Cathy Williams: https://www.youcubed.org/
Teacher Notes (not visible to students)
You can adapt this activity based on your students age and skill level. It is a fun way for students to see the beauty in math and the connection math has to art. CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively. CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with mathematics. CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP7 Look for and make use of structure. Adapted from work by Jo Boaler, Michael Jarry-Shore & Cathy Williams: https://www.youcubed.org/