Visual Mathematics Activities

These activites go with the paper:

SEEING AS UNDERSTANDING: The Importance of

Visual Mathematics for our Brain and Learning.

Jo Boaler, Professor of Mathematics Education

with Lang Chen, Stanford Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Lab
Cathy Williams & Montserrat Cordero, youcubed.
Stanford University
http://www.youcubed.org/visual-math-network/
 Visual Mathematics
Activities

Visual Activities Page(s)

1. Finger Training
Finger Maze 3 - 6
Spot On! 7 - 9
Rockin the Piano 10 - 12
What’s My Roll? 13
Finger Money 14 - 15

2. Multiplication
18 x 5 16
How Close to 100? 16 - 17

3. Algebra
The Border Problem 18 - 19
Squares and Cubes 20

4. Linear Transformations 21

Visual Solutions and Representations

1. Number
Odd Numbers 22
Irrational Numbers 22

2. Algebra
The Turkey Problem 23
3-D Parabolas 23

3. Probability
Green and Blue Cabs 24 - 26

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 Finger Maze

You will need:

Finger Maze activities (in color)
Colored dots for each color in the Finger Maze: red, blue, green, purple, yellow

Finger Maze activities help children build finger differentiation, which is important for developing nu-
merical understanding.

Directions:
Put a colored dot on each fingernail that matches the diagram. Start
with the first maze. Have the child match their red index finger to
the red path in the maze and slowly trace the path to the end. Each
path should be traced slowly and take several seconds. Next trace
the green path with the matching finger. After a child uses their
dominant hand to solve all of the paths in the maze ask them to use
their other hand.

Adapted from Gracia-Bafalluy, M., & Noël, M. P. (2008). Does finger training increase young children’s
numerical performance? Cortex, 44(4), 368-375.

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 Finger Maze 1

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 Finger Maze 2

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 Finger Maze 3

Help Chezi the mouse find the cheese!

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 Spot On!

You will need:

Spot On game board (in color)
Colored dots for each color on the Spot On game board: red, blue, green, purple, yellow

Spot On activities help children build finger differentiation, which is important for developing nu-
merical understanding.

Directions:
Put a colored dot on each fingernail that matches the diagram.
Start with the first row of colored dots. Have the child use their
dominant hand and match their corresponding finger to the first
colored dot. They should move across the row putting down the
finger that matches the dot in color. Make sure they hold their finger
on the dot for a few seconds before they move on. After a child
finishes each row using their dominant hand ask them to complete
each row using their other hand.

A blank page of spots is included so children can make their own patterns.

As an extension you could give fingers and spots numbers.

Adapted from Gracia-Bafalluy, M., & Noël, M. P. (2008). Does finger training increase young chil-
dren’s numerical performance? Cortex, 44(4), 368-375.

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 Spot On!

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 Spot On!

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 Rockin’ the Piano

You will need:

Rockin’ the Piano Keybord (in color)
Colored dots for each color on the keyboard: red, blue, green, purple, yellow

Rockin’ the Piano activities help children build finger differentiation, which is important for developing
numerical understanding.

Directions:
Put a colored dot on each fingernail that matches the diagram. Start
with the first row of colored piano keys. The child should read the keys
from left to right and touch the corresponding finger to the colored
piano key. They should move across the row putting down the finger
that matches the dot color starting with their left hand and then using
their right hand. Make sure they hold their finger on the key for a few
seconds before they move on. After a child finishes each row of keys
see if they can alternate left right left right reading one dot from the
left and then one dot from the right.

A blank page of keyboards is included so that children can make their own patterns.

Adapted from Gracia-Bafalluy, M., & Noël, M. P. (2008). Does finger training increase young chil-
dren’s numerical performance? Cortex, 44(4), 368-375.

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 Rockin’ the Piano

Left Hand Right Hand

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 Rockin’ the Piano

Left Hand Right Hand

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 What’s My Roll?

You will need:

1 die for each pair of students
Different colored dots to put on finger nails: red, blue, green, purple, yellow

Directions:
Write the numbers 1 - 5 on each of the colored dots: 1 red, 2 green, 3 blue, 4 purple,
5 yellow. If you are playing with two hands write the numbers on each dot: 6 red, 7
green, 8 blue, 9 purple, 10 yellow. Put the numbered colored dots on each fingernail
to match the diagram.

One hand play: Decide who is going to be player 1 and player 2. Player 1 will roll first.
Player 2 closes their eyes and holds out their hand in front of them like the diagram.
Their palm should be facing down. Player 1 rolls the die. If player 1 rolls a 5 they
touch player 2’s 5 finger. The touch should be for a few seconds. Player 2 should say what finger is being
touched. If player 2 is not correct player 1 should ask player 2 to open their eyes and see what was rolled
on the die and determine which finger represents the die roll. Player 1 closes their eyes. Player 2 rolls the
die. If player 2 rolls a 6 they should touch the palm of player 1’s hand. Play continues for a few rounds.

Modifications:
- Play can be simplified using 5 or 10 sided dice.
- In two hand play using two dice a player can be asked to identify each dice roll by finger touch
and then they can determine the sum of the dice.
- In two hand play using two dice a player can be asked to identify the sum of the dice and then
determine all posible number rolls. For example, if a 6 was rolled the player would say the dice
rolls could have been (1,5) (2,4), (3,3).

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 Finger Money

You will need:

One Finger Money game board for each player
Coins for each player: 4 quarters, 2 dimes, 2 nickels, 10 pennies
2 dice

Directions:
Assign coins to each finger as shown in the diagram. Players must use the desig-
nated finger to touch and drag each coin from their bank to the game board and
back to the bank. If a player uses the wrong finger on a coin they lose their turn
and take no money from their bank. For a greater challenge players may pick up
their coins using the designated finger for each coin and their thumb.

To begin each player places their coins in the bank at the top of their game
board.
Each player rolls the dice. The highest sum goes first.
Player 1 rolls the dice and finds the sum of the two numbers.
Player 1 takes an amount of coins representing the sum of the dice roll and places them in the appropriate
coin boxes on their game board.
Players will have to trade up coins. For example, if player 1 rolls a 2 and 3 their sum is 5. They count out 5
pennies. Player 1 then trades for a nickel putting the 5 pennies back in their bank and taking a nickel using
the correct finger. If player 1 rolled a 7, they could count out 5 pennies from their bank and then trade the
pennies for a nickel before counting out the remaining two pennies to make 7.
Play continues until one player has reached one dollar in coins. A player may go over one dollar to win.

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 Finger Money

Bank

Quarters

Dimes

Nickels

Pennies

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 multiplication

Work out 18 x 5 and show a visual solution.

from Jo Boaler. Mathematical Mindsets (2016)

How Close to 100?

You will need:
• two players
• two dice
• recording sheet (see next page)

This game is played in partners. Two children share a blank

100 grid. The first partner rolls two number dice. The num-
bers that come up are the numbers the child uses to make
an array on the 100 grid. They can put the array anywhere
on the grid, but the goal is to fill up the grid to get it as full
as possible. After the player draws the array on the grid, she
writes in the number sentence that describes the grid. The
second player then rolls the dice, draws the number grid
and records their number sentence. The game ends when
both players have rolled the dice and cannot put any more
arrays on the grid. How close to 100 can you get?

Variation:
Each child can have their own number grid. Play moves
forward to see who can get closest to 100.

from Jo Boaler. Fluency Without Fear.

16

How Close to 100?
1. ______ x ______= ______
2. ______ x ______= ______
3. ______ x ______= ______
4. ______ x ______= ______
5. ______ x ______= ______
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multiplication
6. ______ x ______= ______
7. ______ x ______= ______
8. ______ x ______= ______
9. ______ x ______= ______
10. ______ x ______= ______
 algebra

The Border Problem

You will need:
Border problem image to display to class (attached)

1. Display the border problem image to the whole class very briefly. Tell them it is a 10 x 10 grid and
ask them to work out the number of squares in the border without conting one by one. Don’t give
the students their own copy of the border. Do not leave it up long enough for them to count.
2. Ask students to share their answer with a partner without discussing how they got their answer.
3. Ask students to share their methods with the entire class. Record their responses using drawings
to illustrate their thinking (see
4. When all methods are displayed ask students to compare and contrast the different methods.

Extensions:
1. Ask students to represent algebraically
2. Discuss the equivalence of the algebraic expressions
3. Ask students to shrink, or extend the grid and to think about the borders of different sized grids,
leading to algebraic expressions.

For more details about how to facilitate this problem and a video of Cathy Humphrey teaching it
see: Boaler, J., & Humphreys, C. (2005). Connecting mathematical ideas: Middle school video cases
to support teaching and learning (Vol. 1). Heinemann Educational Books.

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 algebra

The Border Problem

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 algebra

Squares and Cubes

Visuals for Deep Understanding
How do the diagrams explain the equations?
How do the diagrams and equations change as more terms or fewer terms are included in each series?

Problem provided by Gary Antonick, http://wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/visual-thinking/

Visual solutions provided by Gary Antonick, who teaches visual problem solving at Stanford and around the world.
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For more visual thinking challenges, check out his blog http://wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/visual-thinking/
 linear transformations

[ ] [ ]
1 3
Draw the parallelogram spanned by the vectors 2 and 1 . Then draw its image under the linear

[ ]
-1 2
transformation defined by the following matrix: A = 2 -1 .

How are these different from one another?

What do they still share in common?

How could you change the matrix A to change each of those characteristics in the image?

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 Surprising Visual
Solutions and Proofs
number
Odd Numbers
The sum of consecutive odd
numbers beginning with 1 has a
unique and wonderful pattern!

1+3=4
1+3+5=9
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 = 16
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 = 25

Does the pattern continue?

Irrational Numbers

Squares, their diagonals and

a numberline make irrational
numbers really interesting!

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 Surprising Visual
Solutions and Proofs
algebra
The Turkey Problem
A man is on a diet and goes into a shop to buy some turkey slices. He is given 3 slices which together
weigh 1/3 of a pound but his diet says that he is allowed to eat only 1/4 of a pound. How much of the 3
slices he bought can he eat while staying true to his diet?

from Jo Boaler. Mathematical Mindsets (2016)

3-D Parabolas
Sketch the three-dimensional surface and level curves of
z = y2 + x.

Solution:
Because z’s dependence on x is simpler than its depen-
dence on y, we plot cross-sections with three values: x = 0,
x negative, and x positive.

Notice that the minimal value of each parabola is z = x. For

visual clarity, the figure is not drawn to scale.
We observe that the survace is like a parabola in (y,z) that
slopes along the x axis. This shape is similar to a half-pipe on
a ski slope.

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 Surprising Visual
Solutions and Proofs
Uber/Lyft probability
by Gary Antonick
Math is the science of patterns and the language of logic. We use math to track quantities and trends, like
the money in our savings account. We use math to create: engineers and chefs rely on plans that specify
exact quantities. And we use math to help make decisions -- to provide a way to check our initial intuition.

Recent studies in psychology have shown that our initial intuition is often wildly incorrect. Try this exam-
ple:

Uber and Lyft

In your city there are two ride-share companies: Uber and Lyft. Your father uses one of
these to get back from the airport, but leaves his phone in the car! You are given the fol-
lowing data:

• 85% of the cabs in the city are Uber and 15% are Lyft.

• Your dad thinks he left his phone in a Lyft car, but he’s not sure. In your experience your
dad is correct about 80% of the time, and incorrect about 20% of the time.

He wants to get his phone back. Which company should he call first? That is, is it more
likely that he left his phone in an Uber car or a Lyft car?
This problem is a classic in conditional probability, which is an especially useful tool in fields such as law
and medicine. Why is the mathematics of conditional probability so important? “Human beings have not
evolved to solve these kinds of problems,” says Nick McKweown, a professor of computer science at Stan-
ford. “We need the rigor of math to save us from ourselves.” Let’s see why.

Our initial intuition

Our initial intuition is — call Lyft. Your dad thinks he left his phone in a Lyft car, and his memory is pretty
good for things like this: 80% accurate.

That’s our initial intuition, but it’s actually incorrect. The phone is actually more likely to be in an Uber car!
But how could this be?

Solving with a formula

By using a formula for conditional probability, we find the chance of phone being in a Lyft car is actually
only 41%. Therefore it’s more likely to be in an Uber car. Math saved us! Our intuition is corrected.

The problem, though, is that it’s hard to believe the 41% is actually correct. Your dad’s right 80% of the
time. How does this even make sense? Did we make a mistake somewhere? This is is where visual math
can help.

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 Surprising Visual
Solutions and Proofs
Uber/Lyft
Solving visually using concrete shapes

One way to visualize this is to use actual little cars.

Here they are: 100 cars. 85 are Uber, 15 are Lyft.

Your dad is 80% reliable. Let’s forget about Uber

and Lyft for a minute. How do we draw “80% reli-
able?” One way — let’s draw 80 dark gray cars and
20 light gray cars. One of these cars has the phone
inside, but we don’t know which. If your dad guesses
“dark gray,” he’ll be correct 80% of the time if we re-
peated this and put the phone in a different car each
time. This time we shade the cars by row.

Now we can combine these two ideas. A dark color

means your dad chose correctly, and a light color
means he chose incorrectly.

Let’s now solve our problem. If your dad thinks he

left the phone in a Lyft car, what’s the probability
the phone is actually in a Lyft car? In this case, the
situation is either Lyft/Correct or Uber/Incorrect.
The chance the cab is Lyft/Correct is the proportion
of correct Lyft cars to total cars in the diagram, or
12/(12+17), or 12/29. About 41%. So even though he
thinks he left the phone in a Lyft car, the phone is
more likely to be in an Uber car. He should call Uber
first.

We can now see what’s going on. Your dad is 80%

accurate, but that’s his overall average, which in-
cludes when he thinks the car is an Uber. His accura-
cy in this case (when he thinks the car was an Uber)
must be way higher, and we can confirm this is so:
68/(68+3) = 96%.

We now have the opportunity to understand even

more about this problem in ways that would be very
difficult with a formula. What happens, for example,
if there are three different ride-share options in your
city? How does this change the problem?
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 Surprising Visual
Solutions and Proofs
Uber/Lyft
Solving visually using rectangles

A second way to visualize this Uber/Lyft problem is by using rectangles. The basic idea is the same as with
the icon solution on the previous page, but adds an additional level of abstraction.

We can now solve our problem. If your dad thinks he

left the phone in a Lyft car, what’s the probability the
phone is actually in a Lyft car?

Your dad said Lyft and is either correct or incorrect, of

course. The relevant regions of this diagram are Lyft/
Correct and Uber/Incorrect. The probability of being
Lyft/Correct is the area of the pink rectangle divided by
the area of both triangles.

Our calculation is

pink/(pink + gray) =
(15×80)/(15×80 + 85×20) =
1200/(1200 + 1700) =
1200/2900 =
0.4138

And we’re done! The probability that your dad left his
phone in a Lyft car is 41%. So he should call Uber first.

Problem provided by Gary Antonick, http://wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/visual-thinking/

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