Winter Math Activities

Winter weather presents many opportunities to integrate math skills into literature and science lessons. Teachers often find that winter themes, such as snowmen or penguins, motivate students to play games to help master basic facts or skills. Geometry is also a natural winter theme as students examine snowflake symmetry or symmetry in holiday shapes and cookie cutters.

Winter Geometry

Symmetry: Incorporate a study of symmetry as students create holiday projects. Ellison cutouts and cookie cutters are very often symmetrical figures. Have students trace, cut out and fold the objects to find the line of symmetry. Mrs. Soranno's kindergarten students created lots of symmetric holiday decorations, pictured above as well as the Symmetry Forest, pictured below on the right.

Shapes: Students also used marshmallows and toothpicks to create marshmallow shapes, such as those pictured to the right. This is a great way to reinforce student knowledge of 2-dimensional shapes. Additionally, the marshmallows make it easy to count vertices.

Symmetric Snowflakes: Check out these sites for snowflake patterns that can be printed for students to fold and cut into symmetric snowflakes. Once students have mastered these patterns, they're ready for their own creations.

• Print out Ben & Jerry's Snowflake Patterns
• See directions for creating Billy Bear's 6-point snowman snowflake or 8-point snowman snowflake. The directions may be modified to create any type of symmetric snowflake.
• Download a one-page pdf handout for Folding and Cutting a Snowflake.
• See pictures and directions for Paper snowflakes
• Enchanted Learning gives directions and illustrations to make a Paper Snowflake

Pattern Block Snowflakes

Use Ellison cutouts of the pattern blocks on white construction paper, if possible. If not, download the Pattern Blocks and provide copies so that students may cut apart the blocks. Students then arrange the blocks in a symmetric snowflake pattern on blue or black paper for the best contrast. When students are pleased with the arrangement, they may glue the pieces in place.

Variation: Provide students with the Symmetric Snowflake made from pattern blocks and challenge them to complete the design so that it is has line symmetry. Have students use the blank symmetric snowflake design handout to create their own symmetric snowflake challenges.

Snowflake Quilt Squares

Visit Mrs. Burns' Quilt Monthly Quilt Squares to download patterns for snowflake quilt squares. Bookmark this site for your math quilting unit. Extend the activity by including an investigation of the symmetry in the patterns.

Penguin Math

These activities capitalize on student fascination with penguins.

• Play the Penguin Bowling Game to provide mixed basic facts practice. Students toss 4 dice, then use the numbers from the dice throw and any of the four operations (+, -. *, /) to form expressions to knock down penguin pins. They are trying to create expressions that result in answers of each number from 1-10. Students use a Score Sheet to record group scores as one does in real bowling games. Remember to model the scoring process, using an overhead of the scoring sheet, if students are not familiar with scoring regular bowling games. Teachers will especially have to model how to score a strike, as students will be strongly motivated to knock down all ten penguins in each round.
• Have young students create a Penguin Counting Book
• See Penguin Math from the Winter 2006 Math Activities collection for problem solving, games and penguin links
• Check out Penguin Math from the Winter 2005 Math Activities collection for Pascal's Penguins (discrete math), problem solving and links to penguin tangrams and games.
• Be sure to check out the new Penguin Math Theme page in the Mathwire.com Themed Math Activities Series.

Math Activities Themes: Penguins

See more penguin math activities on the new Penguin Math theme page which is a collection of all things penguin on the Mathwire.com site. conveniently pulled together for easy browsing. The collection includes new Penguin Math Activities including a new penguin math mat, math-literature connection for 365 Penguins and a new Free the Penguins Game.

Winter Coordinate Graphing Activities

Coordinate Graphing Picture:     Holiday Quilt

This activity requires students to use coordinate pairs to correctly color in the squares of the grid to create a picture. Students need only red, yellow, blue and green crayons or markers to color in squares to create this Holiday Quilt of traditional quilt squares.

If students like this activity, try the Quilt Square Challenge. Complete directions are given as are the pdf files for the quilt squares and quilt mats. This activity was designed to help students develop spatial memory and spatial sense.

Coordinate Graphing Game:     Catch the Gingerbread Men

For this game, students toss two dice (one regular and one marked A-B-C-D-E-F), form an ordered pair (e.g. B5), then remove the gingerbread man from that space, if there is one. Play continues until the timer rings or until one player has caught 10 gingerbread men. Students love playing the game and they get to practice their coordinate graphing skills in the process.

Download Catch the Gingerbread Men game mat, game pieces and directions for playing the game.

If students enjoy this game, they will also like the Capture the Penguins Game from the Mathwire Winter 2006 collection. Students especially love the clothespin penguins so they're worth the time and effort to make!

More Winter Coordinate Graphing Activities

• See more Winter Coordinate Graphing Activities from the Winter 2005 collection including a Gingerbread House activity and Grab the Candy game.
• See Winter Coordinate Graphing Games from the Winter 2006 collection to download directions and game mat for the Capture the Penguins game.
• Have students assemble a Snowman Quilt Square, designed by Ms. Burns. Students place colored squares in the correct locations to form a snowman picture.

More Seasonal Coordinate Graphing Resources

Consult these teacher resources for additional coordinate graphing activities, especially for the holidays. Look through closets as these are oldies-but-goodies. These activities introduce young math students to coordinate graphing and allow teachers to plan seasonal math activities that effectively develop math skills and concepts.

• Holiday Graph Art by Erling and Dolores Freeberg, published by Teacher Created Materials, Inc., 1987. This book contains graphing art directions for these winter activities: Santa Claus, Rudolph, Christmas Tree, Candle, Angel, Baby New Year. See Teacher Created Materials Website to view sample pages from this book.

Winter Math-Literature Connections

Many books may be used as a springboard for mathematical discussions and activities. These are included to integrate winter themes into mathematics:

The Elves and the Shoemaker retold from the Brothers Grimm and illustrated by Jim La Marche. After reading the book, have fun with patterns!

• Download Scholastic's The Elves and The Shoemaker short story and math lesson that uses input-output tables to study the patterns.
• Challenge students to make up their own variations on the elves' patterns.
• Read the book and then do A Shoe In, an extension activity found in NCTM's Amazing Attributes online lesson. Students use a Venn Diagram to sort and classify shoes worn by students in the class.
• Create an Elf Glyph. This Winter 2006 math activity includes legend and patterns to create the elves.
  • Download Elf Glyph: Elves & Shoemaker for an adapted elf legend to use with the book.
  • Download the Elf Patterns.

The Mitten by Jan Brett: After reading the book, have students do a math estimation activity:

Download Math-Literature Connections: The Mitten by Jan Brett for a copy of these Mathwire.com lesson plans.

How Big Is the Mitten?: a lesson on volume of a 3-dimensional object

• Student Estimates: Show students a mitten and several linking cubes. Ask students to estimate how many cubes would fit inside the mitten. Record student estimates and ask students to explain how they figured out their estimate and why they believe it is correct.
• Data Collection: Provide mittens and linking cubes for each small group. Ask students to work together to fill the mitten with cubes. Be sure to explain what filled means for your class (e.g. no cubes sticking over the edge, or no cubes falling out when you hold the mitten in the middle).
• Organizing Data: Draw a line plot on the chalkboard or chart paper. Ask student groups to make an X to mark how many cubes they fit into their mitten.
• Analyzing the Data: Lead a discussion about the data, including an informal discussion of both range (everyone in the class was between ____ and ____) and mode (most groups were able to fit about ____ cubes in their mittens) to introduce the mathematical language of statistics.
• Math Vocabulary: Tell students that when mathematicians talk about filling an object, they are talking about the volume of the object. Also model using the terms range and mode in discussing the line plot.

How Many Cubes Will Cover the Mitten?: a lesson on area of a 2-dimensional object

• Student Estimates: Show students a mitten cutout and several linking cubes. Ask students to estimate how many cubes would completely cover the mitten. Record student estimates and ask students to explain how they figured out their estimate and why they believe it is correct.
• Data Collection: Provide mitten cutouts and linking cubes for each student. Ask students to completely cover the mitten with cubes. Be sure to explain that no cubes should hang over the edge of the mitten.
• Organizing Data: Draw a line plot on the chalkboard or chart paper. Ask student groups to make an X to mark how many cubes they fit on their mitten.
• Analyzing the Data: Lead a discussion about the data, including an informal discussion of both range (everyone in the class was between ____ and ____) and mode (most groups were able to fit about ____ cubes on their mittens) to introduce the mathematical language of statistics.
• Math Vocabulary: Tell students that when mathematicians talk about covering an object, they are talking about the area of the object. Also model using the terms range and mode in discussing the line plot.

Graphing Ideas:Do you wear mittens or gloves in the winter?

• Create a clothespin graph
• Create a Venn diagram which allows for the possibility that some students wear both, depending on the day
• Create a pictograph with mitten and glove cutouts
• Create a bar graph using colored index cards with each student's name that can be placed end to end to form bars

Jan Brett activities for The Mitten

• See The Animals of the Mitten coloring page
• Have students Put the Animals in the Mitten
• Design Your Own Mitten
• Print Animal Masks from The Mitten

Additional Seasonal Math Activities on Mathwire.com

These math activities are organized by seasons.   Elementary teachers often incorporate seasonal activities as craft projects.   Many of these seasonal craft projects can be mathematical as well with a little forethought.   Browse the activities for projects to add that reinforce mathematical concepts and skills through seasonal and holiday themes.

• Fall Math Activities 2006
• Fall into Math: Fall 2005
• Back-to-School Math Activities
• Winter 2006: Math Activities
• Winter Math Activities: Winter 2005
• February Math Activities
• 100th Day of School Math Activities
• Earth Day Math Activities
• See all Mathwire Seasonal Math Activities

Links to Winter Math Activities on the Internet

Teachers can find many shared activities on the internet. These activities integrate mathematical ideas using fall materials and themes. The activities address multiple mathematical strands (e.g. measurement, number sense, probability, estimation, money, data collection, etc.), making it possible for teachers to plan effective mathematics instruction that also captures students' seasonal interest. Use or modify the lessons to fit the needs of your students. Build upon the ideas shared by other teachers through internet sites. These are presented in alphabetical order by activity title.

• Math Cats Winter Math Idea Bank includes snowmen, mittens, snowflakes and penguin math activities,
• Christmas Riddles from Kid's Domain