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Math, Cool STEM Jobs,

Cool Kit Creator

Brittany Rhodes makes monthly activity boxes to show math’s magical side!  

By Ashley P. Taylor
From the September 2021 Issue

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Students will write equations with symbols to create a picture puzzle.

Lexiles: 950L; 690L
Focus Area: Algebraic Thinking,
Standards
  • MATHEMATICAL PRACTICES: MP2, MP7, MP8 CCSS: 3.OA.D.8 TEKS: 3.5A, 3.5B

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Lexile® measure

  • 950L
  • 690L

You might have heard of subscription boxes. People order monthly meal kits, pet supplies, or even clothes, delivered in a box. So why not a subscription box for math?

Math educator Brittany Rhodes founded Black Girl MATHgic in 2019. It’s a box delivered monthly filled with activities aimed at Black girls’ confidence in math.

Sharing the Love

Rhodes always enjoyed math. She studied it in college and spent years math students. She noticed that many of her students lacked confidence in math. The Black girls she tutored didn’t see many people who looked like them in . As a result, many of these girls couldn’t see themselves at the top of math-related fields. Rhodes wanted Black girls to know math success was possible for them.

One of Rhodes’s biggest inspirations is Gloria Gilmer. This Black studied the patterns in braided hair to get young people excited about math. “She saw in the styles. She saw division in the parts. She saw triangles in the design,” Rhodes explains.

Rhodes knew she could connect math to all sorts of fun, real-world activities that could get all her students excited about numbers. That’s how Black Girl MATHgic was born!

Unboxing Math Fun

Each Black Girl MATHgic kit includes themed games, activities, and reading material. There’s also a and pictures of a present-day Black female mathematician “so that [Black girls] can see people who look like them who are mathematicians,” Rhodes says. 

In February 2020, Rhodes featured Gilmer in a kit themed “Love Your Hair.” The kit included a book, hair-related products, an interview with Gilmer, and math activities.

Courtesy of Brittany Rhodes 

Rhodes wants more Black girls to have confidence-boosting math experiences.

Rhodes believes materials designed to teach about female Black American mathematicians can teach anyone about those topics. Kids of many different racial and ethnic backgrounds subscribe to Black Girl MATHgic. 

When more students have joyful, successful math experiences, everyone benefits from having powerful math thinkers in the future.  

Math Talk

If you were to create a math box, what would its theme be?

 

Math Talk

If you were to create a math box, what would its theme be?

 

Hands-on Math: Puzzle Maker

Rhodes includes math activities, like picture puzzles, in every Black Girl MATHgic box. Make your own puzzle for others to solve, like Rhodes does! 

Materials

paper • pencil or pen • colored pencils, crayons, or markers

Procedure

STEP 1
Choose a theme for your puzzle and come up with three symbols that fit the theme. For example, for an emoji theme, you might choose these: 😂😍😜

STEP 2
Give each symbol a value between 1 and 20. This is for you to know and the puzzle solver to find out!  

😂= 5
😍= 20
😜= 9

STEP 3
Write an equation that will allow a solver to figure out the value of your first symbol.

Example: 😂+ 😂= 10 (The solver learns that 😂= 5)

STEP 4 
Write another equation so that a solver can figure out the value of your second symbol, using what they know about the first. 

Example:  😂+ 😍= 25 (Since 😂= 5,  😍= 20)

STEP 5
Write an equation so that a solver can figure out the value of your third symbol. 

Example: 😍+ 😂+ 😜= 25 (Since 😂= 5 and 😍= 20, 😜= 9)

STEP 6
Write an equation using all three symbol for the solver to complete. 

Example:  😂+ 😂– 😜+  😍= ? 

STEP 7
Combine each of your equations into one puzzle. Create an answer key. Give your puzzle to someone to solve.  

Hands-on Math: Puzzle Maker

Rhodes includes math activities, like picture puzzles, in every Black Girl MATHgic box. Make your own puzzle for others to solve, like Rhodes does! 

Materials

paper • pencil or pen • colored pencils, crayons, or markers

Procedure

STEP 1
Choose a theme for your puzzle and come up with three symbols that fit the theme. For example, for an emoji theme, you might choose these: 😂😍😜

STEP 2
Give each symbol a value between 1 and 20. This is for you to know and the puzzle solver to find out!  

😂= 5
😍= 20
😜= 9

STEP 3
Write an equation that will allow a solver to figure out the value of your first symbol.

Example: 😂+ 😂= 10 (The solver learns that 😂= 5)

STEP 4 
Write another equation so that a solver can figure out the value of your second symbol, using what they know about the first. 

Example:  😂+ 😍= 25 (Since 😂= 5,  😍= 20)

STEP 5
Write an equation so that a solver can figure out the value of your third symbol. 

Example: 😍+ 😂+ 😜= 25 (Since 😂= 5 and 😍= 20, 😜= 9)

STEP 6
Write an equation using all three symbol for the solver to complete. 

Example:  😂+ 😂– 😜+  😍= ? 

STEP 7
Combine each of your equations into one puzzle. Create an answer key. Give your puzzle to someone to solve.  

Analysis

In a puzzle like the one above, could you divide one symbol by another? Why or why not?

Could a solver still complete the puzzle if you were to skip step 4 or 5? Why or why not?  

Continue Your Learning

  • Rewatch the video “Breaking Barriers: NASA’s Science Superstar” (above). Then create a Black Girl MATHgic kit highlighting Christine Darden’s work. Write a brief biography of Darden to include in your box using the information in the video. Then create a math activity to pair with it!
  • Find any 3-digit number in the issue and write it down. Then set a timer for 3 minutes and write as many equations as you can that are equal to that number. Challenge yourself to use all four operations! How many equations were you able to come up with? 

Continue Your Learning

  • Rewatch the video “Breaking Barriers: NASA’s Science Superstar” (above). Then create a Black Girl MATHgic kit highlighting Christine Darden’s work. Write a brief biography of Darden to include in your box using the information in the video. Then create a math activity to pair with it!
  • Find any 3-digit number in the issue and write it down. Then set a timer for 3 minutes and write as many equations as you can that are equal to that number. Challenge yourself to use all four operations! How many equations were you able to come up with? 
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