Painting Our Classroom

We’re painting a wall in our classroom Caribbean Blue! Or was it Gem Turquoise? Maybe it was Bliss Blue?

Choosing a color is only one of the tasks students need to complete while working on the “Paint Your Classroom” extension problem on their choice board. As we wrap up our operations and algebraic thinking unit in guided math, some groups have begun working on a choice board that has different extension problems that cover a variety of topics from our unit. Students are working on most of this choice board during the independent station, but each group will be choosing a task they want us to work on together at the teacher station.

One group has chosen the “Paint Your Classroom” task to work on together at the teacher station. To complete this task students do not only have to come to a consensus on a color for the wall, but decide how much paint will be needed based on the area they need to cover. This task required students to use their knowledge of area to find out how much paint they will need and also how much it will cost to paint the wall they chose. This problem takes the idea of area that may seem abstract to students and puts in a more real world context. The students definitely enjoyed exploring the Internet to find the best color and price for paint, as well as taking the measurements of the wall they chose to paint.