How to Make a Miniature Math Book

Miniature Math Book

I started the day by making a bulletin board for my math class. I bought the design from the Silhouette store.  I think the snow bunny by Stinkin Cute is exactly what the name says...stinkin cute!

Here are the figures that I enlarged for the bulletin board.

I needed a theme for the bulletin board and I came up with the following title..."Every Bunny Loves Math".  I wanted to put something in her hand and I decided to use a math book. I had a miniature math book that I made from a few years ago. I attached it to the bunny and thought...Eureka...why not do this project again with my students.

Here is a page from this book.

Making a miniature math book is a fun project for math students. It gives them the opportunity to be creative and to make up their own math problems.  In addition, you can have them make up an answer key on a separate sheet of paper.  The books can then be passed around to other students who have to solve the problems on a separate sheet of paper. The author of the math book could then correct the answers to their book.  It can also be adapted for older students.  For example, students can outline a chapter in their math book. It could include definitions and sample problems as a chapter review.

Here is the PDF file for the book pattern.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7oGIyVDbRGYMDNmQnd0RjdhdjA/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-e6AZ7mJ9_T93K92SxVryTA

Here is the .Studio file. I used fabric for the cover of the book, copy paper for the pages, chipboard for the interior support of the book cover and cardstock for the front and back covers for the students to design.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7oGIyVDbRGYUThiQXBzeVVjdFk/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-s6G7TsJW3L5OWL_wJzlTdg


This project should be done over the course of a few days.  Ideally, it can be done in the last ten or fifteen minutes of the class when classwork is completed. Students will have everything they need already cut out...thanks to the Cameo Silhouette.  They will take the fabric as shown with the printed side down and they will glue the cardstock as shown...centering it in the fabric with a quarter inch separating the cardstock, in the middle, for the spine of the book. (I would place the cardstock in the correct position as you hand it out to the students.)

 

Put glue on the cardstock and flip it over when done.

 

 

Put glue on the cardstock as shown.

 

 



Fold over the top and bottom fabric.

 

 Put dots of glue in the four corners by the cardstock on the fabric and then

 origami fold the corners into a triangle. Apply glue to the outer edge of the cardstock.

 

Fold the remaining fabric over the cardstock. It should now look like the above picture.

 

 Staple the pages together in the middle crease in two places as shown. (You could do this before class to eliminate this step.)

 

 Put glue on the entire cover except in the middle where the spine will be.
 

 First, attach the pages to the one side.

 

 

 And then to the other side.

 

 Design a front and back cover. Glue when completed.

 

 

Teacher Alert: At the end of the class, make sure the pages are loose and not glued together. It is easier to unglue the pages while the glue is still fresh. 

There are six pieces of copy paper that make up this book. This allows for 22 pages of blank space to be written on. Another alternative is to start on the right side and give the answer on the left side of the next page. (This would leave the first and last page that are attached to the book cover to be blank.)  The students would then have 10 problems with 10 answers.

The students can make up a title for their math book.  Here are a few funny titles from www.joe-ks.com:

                            How to get an "A" on your Math Test by Cal Q. Later
                            Advance Math by Smart E. Pants
                            I Love Mathematics by Adam Up

This math book has so many possibilities. I had my students make these books for Mother's Day one year.  A few students said their moms loved it and that they were going to keep it forever. What a wonderful compliment!