As part of their preparation for Fieldston Middle, 5th Grade Fieldston Lower students are beginning to apply more advanced mathematical thinking while completing projects that build on their current knowledge and lay the groundwork for complex concepts to come.
Recently, students completed their “Special Numbers” project, which required applying their understanding of number theory to create puzzle posters for the Fieldston Lower community.
“This Special Numbers project builds on our students’ understanding of how numbers can be composed and broken apart,” says Fieldston Lower Math Lead Peggy Tsue. “This year, we added the element of identifying the unique characteristics of individual numbers and their relationships to one another. By developing foundational concepts such as primes, composites, multiples, and factors, students strengthen their number sense and are prepared to engage more deeply with number theory in middle school.”
Students created a series of clues and hid their special number beneath a creative “reveal” panel, ranging from Post-it notes to paper drawbridges. Each student selected a number with personal significance, with many choosing their birthdate, the jersey number of a favorite sports player, and for some, the numbers used in a Taylor Swift song title. The posters teased the mystery numbers with clues such as, “Both of my digits are prime,” and “It is a multiple of five.” Students hung their posters in the hallways, engaging the rest of the Fieldston Lower community in an interactive math game.
“This project gives students an opportunity to choose a number that is meaningful or special to them in their lives, and showcase it using terminology and vocabulary from Math class,” says 5th Grade Teacher Debbie Veetal. “With the posters displayed throughout the school building, members of the community can quickly stop, think, and try to solve the puzzles as they walk by, which generates enthusiasm for math across the building.”
The Fieldston Middle Math Department’s curriculum is committed to developing students’ fluency in basic computational skills and their ability to communicate clearly and accurately about quantities, relationships, and unknown values. With these lessons on the horizon, breaking down digits through their puzzle posters helps prepare the 5th Graders to think critically about mathematical problem-solving.
“The vocabulary used here is central to speaking math as a language,” Veetal adds, “and it forms the foundation for many of the other units we cover throughout the year.”
Through projects like this one, Fieldston Lower 5th Graders practice foundational skills like number theory while also learning to communicate mathematical ideas creatively and confidently. By blending personal meaning with rigorous vocabulary and problem-solving, students build a strong foundation for middle school and discover that math can be both challenging and engaging.
