The entire Churchill Road fifth grade class poses in front of the triangular wall art they created for the school’s cafeteria. Photo by Kim Moran
Earlier this year, Churchill Road Elementary School received a grant from Crayola to foster children’s critical thinking and creativity through arts integration into the core curriculum. Working with art teacher Jenny Whiteman and their classroom teachers, CRS fifth graders applied their studies of number sequences in mathematics to design Sierpinski triangles, a mathematically generated pattern. Over the course of a month, the students then measured and drew their designs on to individual triangle canvases during math class. Then, while in art class, they painted their canvases using CRS and eco-themed acrylic paints.
Whiteman, with the assistance of fifth grade teachers Jill Hamlin and Ricky Woler, bolted the completed canvases together to create larger Sierpinski triangles. The completed work was installed in the school cafeteria to inspire students for years to come.