July 2004 Tip
Summer is in full swing. Look around you. Can you see geometrical shapes as you swim in the sea? Follow mountain paths? Collect arrow heads near a dry creek bed? Wander midst skyscrapers? Geometry is everywhere around us - why not take back photos of those REAL geometrical shapes and solids so that your classroom can become a year-round geometrical playground.
Thinking of ways to use those photos is half the fun. Begin with an attractive bulletin board or display of the photos, but don’t stop there! Here are a few ideas to help your creativity flow:
- Sorting polyhedron and non-polyhedron solids.
- Identifying the shapes and solids in the photo.
- Describe That Shape Game - You will need duplicates of the photos, 1 set in an album; the other set to be distributed to the students. Every student has a different photo. The Leader has the album. The Leader selects 1 photo in the album and describes the shapes seen in the photo using geometrical terms. The person who believes that s/he has the photo described tells the Leader in geometrical terms why s/he thinks s/he has the photo. If the photos are matched, the new student becomes the Leader.
- Graphic Designs Students select a photo then recreate it using ONLY the geometrical shapes.
Words about Geometry
Please use the correct terminology with students. Even pre-kinder students can learn “rhombus” or “parallelogram”
instead of the non-mathematical term, “diamond.” Remember that once we teach vocabulary that is not mathematical, some
teacher in later years must UNteach, providing the accurate geometric term.
Here are mathematical terms to use with your students regardless of their age. (By the way, if students can recall the names
of the dinosaurs, they can say “rhombus!”)
Polygon: simple closed figure having straight sides.
Please note that by definition, all squares are rectangles. They are special rectangles that have congruent sides. AND all squares are rhombi, they are just special rhombi having congruent angles.
NOTE: Since the figures above are NOT polygons, and sides and vertices are defined in terms of polygons and solids made out of polygons (polyhedron), these non-polygonal shapes do NOT have sides or vertices.
Obviously there is a great deal more to geometry, but perhaps these are little tidbits that would open your eyes to the geometry around you this summer. Find as many examples as you can, take snapshots and share this beautiful geometric world with your students!
See you in August!
