Class: 6th Grade Math
Grade: 6th Grade
Teacher: Tim O’Brien

To further their understanding of fractions, 6th-grade students designed and built rudimentary musical instruments. Collaborating with Middle School strings teacher Matthew Vaeth,  students learned about musical intervals—i.e., the measure of the distance between two pitches. With this knowledge, they then calculated the distance of specific intervals on a pre-cut piece of wood and worked in groups to build string instruments with the tools and supplies on the Design Level—sawing, cutting, hammering, stringing, and labeling their final products.