Mathematical Montgomery Bus - Grades K-2 - Part 1
This unit offers a set of activities to allow children to experience the 3 dimensional geometry of paper folding, free exploration with volume of a 3 dimensional shape, and to record their findings in a given set of exercises.
Introduction for all grades
Show a picture of Rosa Parks and read Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 3rd and 4th graders can read this text aloud in a group or quietly to themselves with the teacher asking questions after to insure comprehension.
K - 2nd Activity Part I - folding the bus and free exploration
Materials
1 Montgomery bus printable for each child
Crayons, markers or colored pencils
Scotch tape
Unifix cubes
Have you ever ridden on a bus besides a school
bus?
What did it look like?
Can you tell me where you sat on the bus?
Did anyone have special seats?
Could you choose where you wanted to sit?
We're going to build our own bus, using the paper I'm handing out now. Bus Printable
Folding insructions:
1. Place the paper in front of you with the driver
closest to your belly.
2. Fold the paper underneath on the dotted line that is running under
the front of the bus, crease it gently with your fingers.
3. Fold the paper underneath on the dotted line that is running under
the back of the bus, crease it gently with your fingers.
4. Unfold the paper and turn it lenthwise infront of you with the the
doors closest to your belly.
5. Fold the paper underneath on the dotted line that is running under
the side wheels, crease it gently with your fingers.
6. Turn the bus around and fold the paper underneath on the dotted line
that is running under the side wheels on the last side of the bus.
7. Unfold all sides and turn paper right side down, can you see the crease
lines that make a rectangle? Can you see the 4 squares in the corners?
8. Choose a square to start with, touch the corners that are at the roof
of the bus. Pull them up gently together, can you see the sides of the
bus now? When the cornerstouch, that square turned into a cone. Did you
find it?
9. Fold that piece that is sticking into the center along the dotted line.
Put a piece of tape across the top of the bus where the triangle is. Now
the bus has 2 sides.
10. Now see if you can finish the other 3 sides, if you need help ask
a friend or I'll come over and help.
After your bus is ready you may take unifix cubes
and see how many fit in your bus. Is it different if cubes are sitting
on each others laps? How many layers can you stack up to the top of the
bus? Does your bus hold the same as the person's next to you? (Allow the
children some exploration time with their bus and the unifix cubes.)