Make use of some simple graphics facilities on your computer to help children grasp mathematical concepts while producing stunning art, says Veronica Carter
We had not really planned to get a graphics tablet (an electronic sketchpad), but when something we had ordered with our Tesco Computers for Schools vouchers had been unavailable, they had instead sent us a tablet designed for young children. It stayed in its box far too long, until eventually I got it set up and introduced it to the class.
Initially we used it with the paint programme that is available on all PCs, but we have since changed to using a children's painting programme that is more straightforward for young users. It has fewer options and the buttons are considerably larger and easier for the children to click on.
In maths we were going on to symmetry. We always did the traditional paint prints using folded paper, both small individual ones and a larger, whole-class print. Having each child colour in a given line drawing of a butterfly allows plenty of time to practise the language of symmetry and check the children's growing understanding of the concept. We also glued large tissue paper butterflies on to the classroom windows. Butterflies abounded!
Most painting programmes include an option to flip an image either horizontally or vertically. I had the idea to use this option to let the children produce colourful butterflies using the graphics tablets.
First we created an outline of a single butterfly wing on the tablet. This was saved and used as a 'template'. Each child then coloured in their own copy of this wing, using any of the paint options they chose. On completion we used the copy-and-paste option to make a second wing, which was then 'flipped' and slid into place alongside the original wing. Finally I found two pieces of clipart that I used as flowery background pictures on to which I placed their butterfly images, and I printed out two full-page pictures which included every child's butterflies. Not only did this provide an effective way of presenting their work, it also saved on printer ink!
The computer, together with the graphics tablet, provided a visually powerful example of just what symmetry is. This, together with more traditional artwork, led to the children being able to describe symmetry in the following terms by the end of the unit of work. Symmetry is: 'When one side is the same as the other', 'When it is the same on the other side', 'The same thing on each side', 'When you do a thing on one side and you copy it on the other side', 'When you do one side and you don't do different things on the other side'.
Veronica Carter is the early years co-ordinator at Camelsdale First School in Haslemere, Surrey