Spark JOY: STEAM Labs

---

Core Disciplines:
Math • Visual Design • Real-World Reasoning

Big Idea:
Math is decision-making. Numbers tell a story when choices matter.

The Spark JOY Math Station transforms mathematical thinking into a simulated real-world experience: a fully visual, hands-on Yo-Yo Shop.

Students engage in leveled challenges where they must budget, select, compare, and justify purchases using manipulatives, visual models, and worksheets. Rather than abstract computation, learners experience math as a tool for planning, reasoning, and problem-solving.

This lab intentionally scaffolds students from addition → skip-counting → multiplication → base-number reasoning, reinforcing conceptual understanding at every stage.

Students see all products displayed clearly:

• Classic Yo-Yo
• Modern Yo-Yo
• Lit-Up Yo-Yo
• DNA Yo-Yo
   

• Class Packs (Classic & Modern)
• String Pack
   

Each item has a clearly labeled price, color-coded for accessibility and pattern recognition.

📊 This supports visual learners and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Students rotate through leveled challenges, choosing when to move up based on confidence and readiness.

Budget: $30 Sparks

Students choose yo-yos for themselves.

Math focus:

• Addition
• Subtraction
• Budgeting

🧠 “What can I afford? What happens if I change my choice?”

Buy yo-yos for as many others as desired.

Math focus:

• Addition
• Skip-counting
• Early multiplication

🧠 Repeated addition becomes visible and meaningful.

Given:

• Number of students

Students must decide:

• Class packs vs. individual yo-yos
• Which types to choose
• Total cost
   

Math focus:

• Addition
• Multiplicatio
• Choice & selection
• Decision-making

🧠 Multiple correct answers → reasoning matters more than speed.

Given:

• Number of grades
• Students per grade
   

Students determine:

• Classic vs. Modern balance
• Packs vs. individual yo-yos
   

Math focus:

• Multiplication
• Base numbers
• Scaling quantities
   

🧠 Students think in systems, not just numbers.

Students design a custom yo-yo order including:

• School colors + logo
• Number of schools
• Grades, classes, students
• Pack vs. individual optimization
   

Math focus:

• Multi-step problem solving
• Base-number reasoning
• Strategic planning

🧠 This level mirrors real procurement and budgeting decisions.

✔ Visual Board

• Color-coded
• Clear pricing
• UbD-aligned structure
   

✔ Manipulatives & Models

• Physical yo-yos
• Tokens (“sparks”)
• Pack groupings
   

✔ Worksheets

• Worked examples
• Open-ended challenges
• Space for justification
   

✔ Guided & Independent Paths

• Teacher prompts
• Student self-pacing
   

This station explicitly engages all 8 Common Core Mathematical Practices:

1. Make sense of problems
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively
3. Construct viable arguments
4. Model with mathematics
5. Use tools strategically
6. Attend to precision
7. Look for structure
8. Express regularity in repeated reasoning

✔ Real-world context
✔ Choice-driven engagement
✔ Multiple valid solutions
✔ Visual + tactile learning
✔ Supports neurodivergent learners
✔ Math as agency, not compliance

Students are not “doing math” —
they are using math.

Students leave with:

• A completed math challenge sheet
• A deeper understanding of multiplication and scaling
• Confidence in decision-based problem solving