Turtlestitch

What is Turtlestitch?

TurtlestitchLink opens in a new window is freely available software that enables the generation and stitching of patterns using a digital embroidery machine. It gives programmatic control of the machine, enabling a wide range of patterns to be designed and stitched onto fabric. It was developed by Andrea Mayr-Stalder, and runs in a browser window.

• Maths Lesson Plans (years 5 and 6, ages 9 - 11)
• Basic Skills and Maths Resources
• Projects and Investigations
• Emerging PatternsLink opens in a new window - exploring patterns that emerge through drawing lines and repetition
• Stitch in TimeLink opens in a new window - resources for the Coventry City of Culture 2021 project

Online learning: programming and maths

TurtlestitchLink opens in a new window is used by WMG for outreach activities, as a means of raising awareness of the breadth of engineering. The WMG Outreach team has created a number of resource cards and video tutorials to support its use by teachers, parents and students, including maths task cards suitable for upper key stage 2 (school years 5 and 6). Children work out the answers to maths questions and check them using Turtlestitch.

Parental supervision is advised when accessing external websites.

Printing

The cards can be viewed online or printed individually or in sets. To print the full sets of cards, we recommend setting your printer to print landscape on both sides and flip on short edge.

Teacher training

Book an online teacher training session about using Turtlestitch to teach computing and maths.

Contact

Share pictures of your designs with us on Twitter @wmgwarwick #WMGOutreach

For enquiries about the cards and videos or to report an error, please email wmgoutreach at warwick dot ac dot uk dot

Lesson plans - years 5 and 6

We have created cross-curricular lesson plans for the years 5 and 6 maths and computing programmes of study. Each lesson plan contains links to videos for teachers to familiarise themselves with the content in advance, and activity cards for children to use during the lesson. Each lesson takes 50-60 minutes, but could be broken down into shorter activities.

	Subject(s)	Learning objective
Lesson 1	Maths and computing (years 5 & 6)	We are learning to calculate missing angles on a straight line.
Lesson 2	Maths and computing (years 5 & 6)	We are learning to apply our knowledge of properties of shapes.
Optional L3	Maths and computing (year 6)	We are learning to find the highest common factor of two numbers.
Lesson 4Link opens in a new window	Maths and computing (years 5 & 6)	We are learning to use variables in programs.

Basic skills Writing programs on Turtlestitch Getting started: video & card Saving your file: video Displaying your design without a machine: video Creating patterns with shapes and rotation: video & card Creating your own block: video & card Stitching a shape in different sizes: video & card Creating a star and other shapes: card Creating your own variable: video & card Printable set of skills cards - set your printer to print landscape on both sides and flip on short edge.

Maths Practise year 5 and 6 maths using Turtlestitch Missing angles on a line: questions & answers Properties of shapes: questions & answers Highest common factor: questions & answers Coordinates: introduction Translation: questions & answers Printable set of maths cards - set your printer to print landscape on both sides and flip on short edge.

Projects Things to make with a digital embroidery machine Coaster: card Finger puppet: card Key fob: card Light/lamp panel: card Printable set of project cards - set your printer to print landscape on both sides and flip on short edge.

Investigations Concepts to explore Recursion and creating a binary tree: card Spirals: questions, answers & video Printable set of investigation cards - set your printer to print landscape on both sides and flip on short edge.

Resources created by
Helen Luckhurst.