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Using Art in Math

The art piece I chose is an artwork called Diagonal Cubes. It was constructed in 2005 by Robyn Horn and he used the materials of redwood and graphite. As shown in the image above, the wood is positioned and cut out geometrically and can be easily implemented in a math classroom when talking about shapes. I would personally use this when I have a lesson between 2-D and 3-D shapes, and tie it into the difference between area and volume. I think when introducing those topics and getting them to calculate either area or volume, this would be excellent piece for them to see a physical object and really grasp the idea than just teaching them with books or worksheets.
As shown in the image above, I would outline a piece of wood or section and explain how just with the outlined part, this is 2 dimensional. There is only 2 measurements which are length and height. If the physical object is in the classroom and I have the ability to touch the object, I would probably get students to come up and get them to directly see it, point at it, and/or touch it. With that being said, I would teach my students the concept of area and explain that we can calculate that section right there by multiplying the length and height of the rectangle. And to get the students more interactive, in the case the object is in the classroom, I would have the students to measure the piece and get its area.

In thinking of having a couple days with this unit, I would probably introduce the idea of 3-D and talk about how we can get from the outlined rectangle to a 3-D shape, and in this case we could physically show by adding the width or depth of the wood. Again, in hoping that I have the object in the classroom, I think it'll be good to have the students come up, touch the object, and get them to really see the difference between 2-D and 3-D. Like I would have done with area, I would introduce the concept of volume and what volume means, and would get the students to measure the object's length, width, and height for them to find the volume of that particular rectangle.

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