The barn quilt problem

Details on how Sandra Kelly's second graders at the Patrick McGaheran School in Lebanon NJ and Gina Bongiorno's fourth graders at University School of Milwaukee WI worked on the Liske barn quilt problem. Both classes focused on the original problem of finding different numbers of squares in the barn quilt by using groups of all twenty-five small squares. Most students employed the strategy of manipulating tiles, finding a pattern, and then shading a grid to determine how many squares were required to cover the entire quilt. The problem created a context for students to talk about squares, square patterns, quilts, and many other connections between mathematics and the world they live in.