Students in Mater Christi School’s 8th grade religion class culminated their Church History Unit with a collaborative math/religion project. After exploring stained glass design, students created their own geometric patterns using their knowledge of linear equations. Each student chose 10-12 linear equations based on positive and negative slope, and y-intercepts. They then graphed them on a coordinate plane (on paper). Next, they chose a color scheme and filled in the spaces between lines with colored pencil. Finally, students transferred their work onto plexiglass, using skinny painter’s tape over the lines they graphed and stained glass paint to fill in the spaces between lines.  

Some students opted for a different approach, where they first created their design from a series of overlaid lines, and then derived the equations. They then transferred their designs to plexiglass and added paint. The eighth grade students had just concluded their Linear Functions Unit, and this project served to reinforce their math skills and give them a creative opportunity inspired by the Church History gleaned in Ms. Melloni’s class. 

Julia Melloni
Middle School Religion Teacher

Jonnifer Moorhead
Math Specialist