Roman Number Craft

Crafting a working clock can provide ongoing exposure to Roman numerals.

Roman numeral crafts can be a hands-on enhancement to unit studies on ancient history or mathematics. Developing materials for games or even classroom assignments can be more fun than working through an assignment sheet. Introducing crafts that encourage an element of healthy competition can encourage students to develop a fluency in Roman numerals that can last a lifetime.

Bingo

Lead kids in crafting bingo cards featuring Roman numerals, which can provide ongoing exposure to the numbering system. Provide students with different bingo cards and a corresponding blank grid featuring the same number of spots. Assign students to directly transpose the letter and number combinations onto the corresponding spot on the blank grid, converting the Arabic numbers to Roman numerals. Students can race to accurately convert their bingo charts. Lead a group game of bingo, using bingo graphs with Roman numerals.

Functional Clock

Purchase a blank clock face with a working clock mechanism. Use a clock template or a measuring tape to determine the relative placement of the numbers on the clock in order to have an accurate timepiece. Obtain an alphabet stencil, and cut out the letters I, V and X for use on the clock. Paint the numbers in their appropriate locations on the clock. Hang the finished craft for continual practice using Roman numerals on an everyday basis.

Worksheets

Transform worksheets from a mundane assignment to a student-lead educational craft. Kids with a basic knowledge of Roman numerals can race each other on basic worksheets, matching Arabic numbers between 1 to 10 with their Roman counterparts. Award small prizes for speed and accuracy. Allow students to develop questions for worksheets by writing their own questions such as house number, year or birth and age. Provide help in answering the tougher questions, such as the year.

Secret Code

Combine lessons in very basic cryptography with crafts to develop a basic knowledge of Roman numerals. Guide students in crafting a key to the code by matching letters with an Arabic number between 1 and 26 on a grid. Allow students to craft secret messages to each other by converting the Arabic number to a Roman number. Reward students for their efforts by converting the clues for a treasure hunt into the developed code.

References

• Martha Stewart: Stenciled Clock Wall Decorations