Math Mosaic Art Activity: Fun Multiplication Practice for Kids K-8

Kids don’t learn as much as you think they do from multiplication flashcards and area worksheets. Drilling the facts doesn’t help students understand why we calculate area the way we do and how this relates to their multiplication facts. Instead of drilling more multiplication facts, or doing more boring worksheets, create a beautiful STEM art project while learning about area.

If your child or classroom is learning about area, this math mosaic activity is for you. This is one of my favorite STEM art activities as it combines the concepts of area, multiplication, art, symmetry, and so much more. In addition, it can be easily tied into history units focused on ancient forms of art.

I designed this specific activity to be accessible to students as young as kindergarten and as old as 8th grade. While younger students may want to work with a smaller board and bigger unit squares, older students may want to work with larger boards and smaller unit squares to fit their abilities and attention spans.

This mosaic multiplication activity uses just a handful of materials - paper, scissors, and glue making it perfect for a spontaneous and fun craft with items you already have around the house.

Instruction

Estimated time for completion: 30 minutes

Materials needed:

Scissors or paper cutter
Multiple colors of paper (construction paper or scrap book paper work best- but any paper will do)
Card stock or carboard in the desired shape - start out with a square for an easy entry
Glue stick (least messy option for gluing your squares)
Plastic bag to store unused squares or unfinished project

More of a visual learner? For engaging visual instructions, watch my YouTube video

Step 1: Cut out 1 inch by 1 inch squares using your colored paper. You can measure and cut, use a paper cutter, or print this grid onto your colored paper. Note: the squares don’t have to be perfect - but it helps if they’re measured as accurately as possible and utilize mostly straight lines.

Step 2: Cut out your board. Cut out an 8 inch by 8 inch square from card stock or cardboard. You can use this template as a guide. Note: for a faster craft - create a smaller square board.

Step 3: Plan your art. Play with your colored squares and plan how you will create your image or pattern.

Step 4: Glue your colored squares onto your cardstock. Fill the entire board with as few gaps as possible.

Step 5: Calculate how many squares it took you to create your mosaic

Step 6: Try again with a different sized board

materials for multiplication art project

Teaching Tips for Maximum Multiplication Learning

Why this multiplication art activity works:

Kids need to experience math to understand it. Students who do tiling activities to explore area are much more likely to understand the concept and retain their learning. After learning about area with physical tiles, students can move on to drawings and eventually multiplication algorithms.

This activity not only gives hands-on experience, but ties the concept of area to creativity. When doing this math mosaic activity, students are able to express themselves and make the math their own.

Learning objectives:

This hands-on math activity has a low floor and high ceiling, meaning it can be used for a wide range of ability levels. If you’re wanting to align this activity with common core math standards, here are the standards it can serve:

Learning tips for parents and teachers:

This math mosaic activity creates great opportunities to explore and discuss the concepts of area and multiplication. Here are a few tips for helping your child explore this art project in a meaningful way:

Ask for an estimate of how many squares they think it will take to cover the whole board. Write the estimate down and discuss it after they’re done with their mosaic and have counted their squares.
Encourage your child to find different ways to calculate the squares used - younger students could skip count, while older students could focus on rows and columns.
Discuss patterns that they see in their mosaic
Count the number of squares used for each color (younger students)

Vocabulary to incorporate:

Here is a short list of math vocabulary words you might want to introduce during this multiplication art activity

Square unit - A square that measures one unit on each side. These units are used to measure area. For example, a one inch by one inch square is a one inch square unit.

Area - The size a shape or surface takes up in square units.

Symmetry- Being the same on both sides of a line. Images can have one or multiple lines of symmetry

Lesson Extensions:

For older or more advanced students, this STEM art lesson can be a jumping off point for further exploration of area, multiplication, and geometry concepts. Here are some fun ways to extend the activity for these students:

Use a board that’s a triangle, rectangle, or other shape
Make the board incorporate fractions (ex. A 8.5 inch by 8.5 inch board or a 7.5 inch by 6 inch board)
Use smaller or bigger square units

Ties to other subjects :

You can easily tie this multiplication art activity to other school subjects. Read this article from worldhistory.org on how different cultures have created mosaics for thousands of years. Modern mosaics can also likely be found in your local area.

Additional ways to create:

Here are some ideas on additional ways you can use mosaic to explore area and multiplication.

Use ceramic backsplash tiles to create and recreate different images or models of multiplication tables.
Pick a multiplication problem and then create a mosaic using those dimensions
Use graph paper to color mosaics instead of cutting and gluing

ready to start creating?

Get the complete visual walkthrough in my tutorial video. Watch this video with your child to get the rundown of exactly how to pull off this project.