Environmental Print Activities for Teaching Mathematics and Content Areas

Twenty-three mathematics activities that use environmental print materials are presented, along with two activities that focus on music education, one that highlights history concepts, and five science activities. The environmental print materials are words and images cut from food or other product packaging and mounted on mat board cards. Instructions for teachers regarding material preparation are given, along with directions for students to engage in each activity. Example layouts and labels for materials boxes are given for each activity. Mathematical topics include: more and less; numeration; addition and subtraction; time words; forming patterns; writing equations; story problems; chart coordinates; percents; fractions; measurement abbreviations; coins; liquid measurement; symmetry designs; Venn diagrams; volume and area of geometric solids; factors; permutations; and probability. The two music activities focus on rhythm. The history activity discusses ideas and items related to the taxation of the thirteen colonies. The five science activities include the following concepts: living versus nonliving; ecology food pyramid; distinguishing proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids; potential versus kinetic energy; and fossils in geologic time. (Author