Math students construct walkway
June 25, 2009
By Laura Geggel
From the view out his math classroom window, Twin Falls Middle School teacher John Spiess used to notice that students sometimes take eccentric routes. They would walk onto the science patio, through the landscaped plants and across the parking lot to get to the track and field.
“Every time we went out, we’d go out here to go to the track,” eighth-grader Emma Greer said. “We were always tromping through the plants.”
The plants were worse for the wear, but Spiess had trouble getting his students to change their walking patterns. After some thinking, he found a way to save the leafy bushes and teach students at the same time.
Chelsie Brannan, left, and Samantha Haverfield sweep sand between the cracks of the new brick path at Twin Falls Middle School.
Spiess gave the students the assignment of building a brick path. After taking his pre-algebra class, the 22 eighth-graders had the geometry skills to measure the path, calculate its area and volume and determine how many bricks they needed.
Spiess wrote a grant to the Twin Falls PTSA, which began shopping around for good prices on materials. When Ace Hardware in North Bend heard about the project, they decided to donate all of the supplies, including the gravel, sand, cement blocks and even some advice.
“Basically, we’re in a position where the community supports us and we find ways to support the community,” Ace Store Manager Chris McCartney said.
After talking with supplier Basalite Concrete Products, LLC, McCartney got a discount on the cement blocks, as well.
With their supplies secured, Spiess asked his students to put their math skills to the test. They each designed a scale drawing on paper. Next, Spiess gave each student 15 blocks and asked them to recreate their pattern on the science patio, before voting on their favorite.
Eighth-grader LeeAnna Tomlinson won the contest.
“I just kind of put bricks together,” said Tomlinson, who was happy to leave her mark on Twin Falls. “It’s actually kind of cool because you get to put something that you thought of in school.”
Spiess put out the word about the project, and soon teachers from all over the school had brought in shovels and rakes for the pre-algebra students to use. For the next four weeks, students transplanted plants, dug out the path, laid in gravel and sand and placed the cement blocks in a pattern according to Tomlinson’s design.
The gravel and sand help stabilize the blocks from underneath. Once the students laid down the blocks, they filled its cracks with sand.
Each student also contributed something more than math prowess and physical labor.
“We made cement bricks with our handprints,” eighth-grader Connor Reece said.
At the path’s dedication the last week of school, eighth-grade student Omri Reeves rode his unicycle across the path.
In the end, the students said they enjoyed connecting their math skills to a real-world application. McCartney commended them, as well.
“They used it as a learning tool for educational purposes in math and actually built something they can be proud of,” McCartney said.
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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Great!! I I think it is a great idea. Kids need to know that math is not just numbers on paper, math is real!