Transformations

Grade 6 Math and Art

Integration
Unit Plan

By Dani Peters

Grade 6 Transformations: Stage 1 Desired Results

TRANSFER GOAL

Established
Goals

Students will:
perform
transformations
(translations,
rotations and
reflections) in a
2D space.
illustrate how
transformations
can be used in
the real world
and in art.
create their
own stained
glass windows
using different
types of
transformations
.
describe
transformations
using
mathematical
language.

Students will perform and describe transformations and show an

appreciation for how transformations can be used in art.
MEANING
Enduring Understandings:

Essential Questions:

Students will understand that

Students will keep considering

U1 Transformations are all around us.

Q 1 What does a pattern look like

that has been made using
transformations?

U2 Transformations provide the

framework for artistic representation in
many cultures.
U3 Mathematical properties of
rotations, reflection and symmetry are
found in many designs in everyday life.

Q2 What information must be

given to describe a transformation?
Q3 Why are transformations used
in art?

ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

Students will know

Students will be skilled at

Transformations are all around

us.

There are different types of

transformations called
reflections, rotations and
translations.

identifying and classifying

translations, reflections and
rotations in 2D images

making connections between

mathematics and art.

STAGE 2 Evidence
Evaluative
Criteria
Performance is judged in
terms of

Assessment Evidence
Students will need to show their learning by:

Math journal

Transfer Task:

Stained glass
window

Students will create their own stained glass window using paper and
cellophane using their knowledge of transformations and
complimentary colours. They will then describe the transformations
evident in their window in mathematical terms. Students will then do a
peer review of the description of the transformations in the stained
glass window. When they have finished the peer review, students will

Reflection

Critique

be graded on a rubric for their stained glass window, description of

transformations and use of complimentary colors.

Unit Summary:
This unit is centred on the grade 6 math curriculum and integrates pieces from the art curriculum
as well. Students will take a more meaningful look into transformations and see how they are evident in
the world around us. In order to include art history, students will start by looking at and encountering the
famous artist M. C. Escher to see how he used the manipulation of 3D objects to 2D objects to create
illusions within your mind. He also used tessellations and transformations and other mathematical
curiosities in his work to portray certain elements. This encounter will help students see that math is an
important element in art and in the real world. It will inspire students to make their own creations using
similar techniques to Escher. By critiquing others work they will learn to demonstrate a mutual respect
towards others. They can cognitively apply the knowledge and skills they have learnt to other parts of
their life.
Students will observe other peoples work as well as Eschers and critique them. Students
experiment with paint combining primary colours to create secondary colours. They will use their
knowledge of complementary colours to create a stained glass window. Students can design their own
stained glass window using their knowledge of transformations. They will use their hands and practice
to increase accuracy. They will be using paint to apply different brush strokes. This applies to the
psychomotor domain. They will also be writing in a math journal. I believe it is important to involve
English and writing in math so that students can become mathematically literate.

Unit Rationale:
I believe learning is more powerful and meaningful when you can integrate different subjects
together. In the real world all subjects are incorporated together, but in school there is a huge segregation
between the different subjects when there does not have to be. This unit is suitable for the grade level
because art makes math more interesting for many students and will also show students how
mathematics has had a powerful impact on the arts. This unit allows students to be creative in a subject
where there is usually one right answer. Transformations are excellent examples of how mathematical
principles are used in art. This unit is a great way to incorporate hands on activities in the math
classroom. When students are interested in what they are learning, they are more motivated and
engaged. At this age, students will be very intrigued by Eschers work, especially his illusion of the
staircase that keeps going up and up. Depending on the culture in the classroom, I may also use quilting
as an example of how transformations are used in art.
This unit engages students and challenges them to think outside the math box. As I stated
earlier, students are used to doing math in math class. Having art incorporated will increase student
engagement. Throughout the unit, I use different taxonomical level questions and engage students in
higher level thinking. Students have two different encounters with art that help to keep them engaged.
The lessons always start with something that will engage the students right off the bat.
I think the final product for this unit is exciting and interesting for students. They are able to
create and design their own stained glass while keeping certain criteria in mind. They need to include
complimentary colours and 2 types of each transformation. This challenges students to create which is
the highest order of thinking. They are given guidelines and then create their own piece to fit the
guidelines.
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Lesson Summaries:
Lesson 1: This lesson will serve as a review of the 3 different types of transformations by diving
into the story of Escher. Students will look at how Escher used transformations and
other mathematical information to create art of all sorts. I will introduce the topic, by
giving a short biography of Eschers life, followed by looking at and critiquing many
of his famous creations such as Drawing hands or Relativity. We will take a
deeper look at Sky and Water and look at what principles are needed to create a
piece that uses transformations. Student will then take the time to try a piece like that
on their own. To close, students will hang their final products on the wall and do a
gallery walk around the classroom.

Lesson 2: For the second lesson, students will look into primary colors, secondary colors and
complementary colours. First students will begin by mixing the primary colours to
make the secondary colours. They will use three different types of paint brushes and
try using different strokes on the paint brush. They will then use the colours they have
made to make a colour wheel. The colours opposite each other are complementary
colours. To close, students will look at examples of stained glass windows and identify
different transformations in the windows. Tell them about the final product so that they
have a goal in mind for the next day.

Lesson 3: During this lesson, students will complete a project that includes both math and art.
First, we will encounter stained glass windows from Matisses chapel. Since they spent
the end of last class looking at examples of stained glass windows and the
transformations in then, they will be able to design their own stained glass window
using cellophane and black paper that includes two examples of each type of
transformation. The stained glass window must be divided into 4 sections and each
section will contain complementary colours. When they have finished, they are to
write a paragraph describing the transformations evident in their window using proper
mathematical language.

LESSON #1
Subject: Math and Art 6
Lesson Duration: 90 minutes
Unit: Shape and Space
(Transformations)
OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES
General Learning Outcomes:
Students will:

Describe and analyze position and motion of objects and shapes.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

Students will:

Perform a combination of translations, rotations and/or reflections on a single 2-D

shape, with and without technology, and draw and describe the image.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will:
1. Describe how transformations are used in various art forms.
2. Describe how transformations are used in Eschers art.
3. Create an exemplar of Eschers work based on their knowledge of
transformations.
ASSESSMENTS
Observations:
Key Questions:
1. How did Escher use his knowledge of
Students should be engaged with the
transformations to create art?
lesson at all time. Watch for students
2. What other techniques did Escher use
who seem disconnected and ask
while creating these pieces?
them 3rd level questions to keep them
3.
How do you make a piece similar to
engaged.
Eschers Sky and Water?
All students should participate in
4.
What are important factors to consider
discussion.
while critiquing the works of others?
Students should be actively working
on their final product in the
appropriate time slot.
Students should be engaged in
constructive critiques at the end of
the lesson.
Written Performance Assessments:
N/A
LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED
Resource #1 : http://www.mcescher.com/about/biography/
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
grid paper
variety of pencil crayons
Powerpoint with pictures and
SMART Board or projector
instructions
pencils and erasers
tape or sticky tack
graph paper
PROCEDURE
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INTRODUCTION: (10 minutes)

Prior to this part in the unit, students will have been taught each type of
transformation and will have had at least one class working and practicing with each
type of transformation.
Hook/Attention Grabber: Hook the class by having Eschers picture of relativity on the board.
Ask: What is unique about this drawing? How old do you think it is? What characteristics of
art is the artist taking advantage of to create this kind of illusion? What medium was used in
this drawing? What stands out from it?
Transition to Body: This drawing was made by M. C. Escher who is one of the worlds most
famous graphic artists. Today we will be taking a look at his life and how he used
mathematics in his art.

BODY: (40 minutes)

1. Give students a short run down on Eschers life: Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) is one of the world's
most famous graphic artists. His art is enjoyed by millions of people all over the world, as can be seen on the
many web sites on the internet.
He is most famous for his so-called impossible constructions, such as Ascending and Descending, Relativity,
his Transformation Prints, such as Metamorphosis I, Metamorphosis II and Metamorphosis III, Sky & Water I
or Reptiles. But he also made some wonderful, more realistic work during the time he lived and traveled in
Italy..
M.C. Escher, during his lifetime, made 448 lithographs, woodcuts and wood engravings and over 2000
drawings and sketches. Like some of his famous predecessors, - Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Drer and
Holbein-, M.C. Escher was left-handed.
Apart from being a graphic artist, M.C. Escher illustrated books, designed tapestries, postage stamps and
murals. He was born in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, as the fourth and youngest son of a civil engineer. After
5 years the family moved to Arnhem where Escher spent most of his youth. After failing his high school
exams, Maurits ultimately was enrolled in the School for Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem.
After only one week, he informed his father that he would rather study graphic art instead of architecture, as
he had shown his drawings and linoleum cuts to his graphic teacher Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita, who
encouraged him to continue with graphic arts.
After finishing school, he traveled extensively through Italy, where he met his wife Jetta Umiker, whom he
married in 1924. They settled in Rome, where they stayed until 1935. During these 11 years, Escher would
travel each year throughout Italy, drawing and sketching for the various prints he would make when he
returned home.
Many of these sketches he would later use for various other lithographs and/or woodcuts and wood
engravings, for example the background in the lithograph Waterfall stems from his Italian period, or the trees
reflecting in the woodcut Puddle, which are the same trees Escher used in his woodcut "Pineta of Calvi",
which he made in 1932.
He played with architecture, perspective and impossible spaces. His art continues to amaze and wonder
millions of people all over the world. In his work we recognize his keen observation of the world around us
and the expressions of his own fantasies. M.C. Escher shows us that reality is wondrous, comprehensible and
fascinating.

2. Look at Eschers drawing of Sky and Water. How has the artist achieved such an effect? How does this
relate to mathematics? Is this drawing an example of any kind of transformation? What else do you notice
about the picture?

3.
3. Pass out a sheet of white paper to the students. Instruct the students to draw a polygon (i.e.: triangle, square,
rhombus, etc.) on the piece of paper and cut it out. Then ask the students to cut out a shape from one side of
the polygon. Have the students slide that shape over to the other side of the polygon. Then ask them to flip
the shape and see how it changes the original polygon.
4. Creating an Escher-Style Tessellation- Pass out another sheet of white paper to the class. With the help of a Mira
and tessellation grid, have the students repeat the curved shape they created in the exercise. They can use
the appropriate tessellation grid to make sure they are creating a straight pattern. Have the students create
rows of these objects. There will be negative space between these rows. By definition a tessellation cannot
have negative space or overlapping objects. Have the students create a new object to fill in these negative
spaces. Once the students have created their Escher-style tessellations they can colour it.

CLOSURE: (10 minutes)

When students are finished, they will use sticky tack or tape to hang their Escher
style drawing up around the classroom. Students will then do a gallery walk and
practice critiquing and commenting on the works of their classmates. Each student
will get 3 sticky notes. They have to leave 3 critiques for 3 different people. When
they have wrote it, they stick it beside the person who owns the drawings. When
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everyone is finished, students pick up their own work and can take the comments
that are beside their drawing.
Sponge Activity: Students can either add more shapes to their Escher style
drawing or try another shape with a separate piece of paper.

Consolidation: Next class we will be looking at complimentary colours. You will be using
complimentary colours and transformations for your final project for this unit.

LESSON #2
Subject: Math and Art 6
Lesson Duration: 90 minutes
Unit: Shape and Space
(Transformations)
OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES
General Learning Outcomes:
Students will:

Describe and analyze position and motion of objects and shapes.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

Students will:

Perform a combination of translations, rotations and/or reflections on a single 2-D

shape, with and without technology, and draw and describe the image.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will:
1. experiment with different brush strokes
2. experiment with different types of paint brushes
3. create a colour wheel
4. determine the complimentary colours.
ASSESSMENTS
Observations:
Key Questions:
1. What are the different types of
Students should be engaged with the
paint brushes we will be using?
lesson at all time. Watch for students
2. Which paint brush would be best for
who seem disconnected and ask
filling in a background?
them 3rd level questions to keep them
3.
Which paint brush would be best for
engaged.
drawing a straight line?
All students should participate in
4.
How are primary colours used to
discussion.
make secondary colours?
Students should be actively working
5.
Where do complimentary colours
on their colour wheel in the
appear on the colour wheel in
appropriate time slot.
relation to one another?
Students should be engaged in
constructive critiques at the end of
the lesson.
Written Performance Assessments:
N/A
LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED
Resource #1 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVCz0fJAJzQ
Resource #2: http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-harmonies.htm

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

matching game cards
SMART BOARD (with sound)
tempera paint for students
Paper
3 different types of brushes for each
colour wheel paper
group
9

math journal
PROCEDURE

INTRODUCTION: (10 minutes)

Hook/Attention Grabber:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVCz0fJAJzQ
Watch video on different types of paintbrush strokes and brushes which pertains to the
psychomotor domain. Today we will be experimenting with using paint brushes as well as
mixing colours.
Transition to Body: Assign certain people in each group to get painting supplies, and another
student in each group to grab paper. Each group needs to have red, yellow and blue paint.

BODY: (40 minutes)

1) First, students will use a piece of paper to practice working with their paintbrushes. They should use each
type of paint brush that was listed in the video at least once and get a feel for how they differentiate. Students
should feel free to talk with one another about their painting at this point in the lesson. While students are
working, I will be walking around and giving people tips on the use of their brushes.
2) Next, I will get the classes attention and tell them to mix the three primary colours to make the 3 secondary
colours. They should already know how to do this from previous grades so it will mainly serve as a review.
While students are doing this, I will hand out a black wheel for them to make their colour wheel on.
3) As a review : Who can identify a warm color or a cool color on the color wheel? What
happens when I layer warm and cool colors or place them adjacent? Explain to students that
a colour wheel is different colours organized by blending of different colours such as a rainbow in the shape
of a circle. Each colour should naturally flow to the next colour. Students are to use the 3 primary colours and
3 secondary colours to make their colour wheel. Ask: Is this colour wheel restricted to six colours? Students
should understand that colours come in a variety of shades and the colour wheel is infinite.

4) Ask students to make a guess of what complimentary colours are opposite each other on the colour wheel.
This works for any colour wheel and it doesnt matter how many colours are on the wheel.

CLOSURE: (10 minutes)

Matching: This activity will get students up and moving as the lesson closes. Each
student will be given a piece of paper. Some have the names of colours, some have a
name of a transformation, and some have a picture. This is a matching game. The
student with the picture needs to find the corresponding transformation shape and
complimentary colour combination. Once students find a group of three that match,
students will then find another group of three with different classmates in it. When
students are finished they will sit down for the last two minutes of class
Sponge Activity: The matching game can be repeated several times until there
are no more combinations. If this still isnt long enough, students can write in
their math journal and answer the question How do you think transformations are
related to art?
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Consolidation: Tomorrow we will wrap up the unit by starting our final project. For our final
project, we will look at stained glass windows. We will be making our own windows and
incorporating transformations and complimentary colours in them. Please feel free to stick
around and ask me any questions. Make sure to bring scissors to class tomorrow.

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LESSON #3
Subject: Math and Art 6
Lesson Duration: 90 minutes
Unit: Shape and Space
(Transformations)
OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES
General Learning Outcomes:
Students will:

Describe and analyze position and motion of objects and shapes.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

Students will:

Perform a combination of translations, rotations and/or reflections on a single 2-D

shape, with and without technology, and draw and describe the image.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will:
1. describe transformations visible in a stained glass window
2. determine complimentary colour pairs
3. describe how transformations are used in art
ASSESSMENTS
Observations:
Key Questions:
1. How are transformations used in
Students should be engaged with the
art?
lesson at all time. Watch for students
2.
What is the importance of
who seem disconnected and ask
rd
symmetry in art and why is it
them 3 level questions to keep them
appealing to the eye?
engaged.
3.
What are the different types of
All students should participate in
transformations?
discussion.
Students should be actively working
on their stained glass window
Students will take the time to peer
review someone elses work.
Written Performance Assessments:
math journal
description of transformations in stained glass window
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
black paper
rulers
6 different colours of cellophane
math journals
scissors
SMART Board
glue
PROCEDURE

INTRODUCTION: (10 minutes)

Hook/Attention Grabber: Students will write in their math journal. They should pull out their
individual journals and take 6 minutes to answer the following question: How do you think
transformations are related to art?
Transition to Body: Show pictures of stained glass on the SMART BOARD. Before we start our
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final project lets look at an example. In Vence, Matisse chapel displays many stained glass
windows. Many include transformations.

How has this artist used his

knowledge of transformations to make this window? What colours are used in the window and
how do they relate to each other? What is appealing about transformations in art.

BODY: (40 minutes)

1) Take a look at what is stained glass? Have some people volunteer their answers and then read: The
term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works created from it. Throughout its
thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches, mosques and
other significant buildings. Although traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of
modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensional structures and sculpture.
Modern vernacular usage has often extended the term "stained glass" to include domestic leadlight and objets
d'art created from came glasswork exemplified in the famous lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany.
As a material stained glass is glass that has been coloured by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. The
coloured glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or
pictures, held together (traditionally) by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame. Painted details and yellow stain
are often used to enhance the design. The term stained glass is also applied to windows in which the colours have
been painted onto the glass and then fused to the glass in a kiln.
Stained glass, as an art and a craft, requires the artistic skill to conceive an appropriate and workable design, and the
engineering skills to assemble the piece. A window must fit snugly into the space for which it is made, must resist
wind and rain, and also, especially in the larger windows, must support its own weight. Many large windows have
withstood the test of time and remained substantially intact since the late Middle Ages. In Western Europe they
constitute the major form of pictorial art to have survived. In this context, the purpose of a stained glass window is
not to allow those within a building to see the world outside or even primarily to admit light but rather to control it.
For this reason stained glass windows have been described as 'illuminated wall decorations'. What do you think
stained glass has to do with math or transformations?
2) Go through the rubric with the students. Make sure students

understand how to succeed in this assignment. The paper needs to

have four corners each portraying a different set of complimentary
colours. Show students an example and give them the directions for
making it. First, sketch the pattern you want on the black paper. Once
you have a pattern that includes transformations Cut out the inside
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pieces. You then use cellophane and glue to fill in the holes. It is a bit
tedious to get the cellophane lined up with the paper so make sure
students take their time.
3) The supplies for each student will be set out for them. They should
first take the black piece of paper and sketch a drawing of the pattern
for their window. Make sure that students remember the frame must
be divided into four sections. As students are working, walk around
and help students. Ask questions about complimentary colours and
transformations: Do you have the colours in the right spot? Why are
these two colours complimentary? Can you show me an example of a
reflection? How is it a reflection?

CLOSURE: (10 minutes)

When students are finished, they will complete the last part of their project. They
need to describe to examples of each type of transformation in their window. Make
sure students are aware of how to describe this. Do a quick review using someones
completed product. Students are to hand in their stained glass, and their description
of the transformations. When students are done, they will do a a peer review of a
friends project.

Sponge Activity: Student can add and make changes to their math journal for the
question: How do you think transformations are related to art? After this lesson,
students should have a more detailed answer to the question.

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