https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometric_shape#/media/File:Similar-geometric-shapes.svg
This week we came prepared and participated actively in the strand, Geometry and Spatial Sense. Again, the importance of concentrating on the "Big Ideas" in math instructions to achieve the goal of helping students to gain deeper understanding of math concepts was emphasized. In the readings, for this strand, the "Big Ideas" in Grades 4 to 6 are as follows:
- properties of two-dimensional (2-D) shapes and three-dimensional (3-D) figures
- geometric relationships
- location and movement
My placement is a Grade 4 class, so I was eager to see how Miss Bunz's sample learning activities and the new knowledge would effect me as a teacher. I have to say that I always liked geometry with its shapes and their properties. I enjoyed working with the figures and grids during elementary school. It was a mathematical strand that I felt confident.
Today's class began with a co-ordinate geometry worksheet activity called River Riding, a good resource for students in the 4th Grade and up. This is the type of activity I liked practicing when I was younger because it helped develop my spatial reasoning skills and it was an interactive learning tool that made geometry simple. Identifying x-axis (horizontal line) and y -axis (vertical line) coordinates is a great way to practice co-ordinates because students tend to forget how to perform this procedure. The mystery graphs allow students to practice the skills and the worksheets are fun for holiday activities. Small (2013) suggests that geometric experiences involving location and movement, support the development of spatial sense and positional vocabulary. Students learn to do this when they plot points on co-ordinate grids and construct shapes. Today, I constructed a sailboat. Great interaction for students!
What I enjoyed about this activity is that it was engaging, stimulating, and challenging at the same time. As a teacher, I can make the mystery shapes different making it fun for students to learn how to use co-ordinate systems. Depending on the grade level, I can provide simple to more sophisticated systems to identify and describe the location of an object, use a grid map and reflect 2-D shapes. Geometry is everywhere and its skills help us think logically in every day life.
Pictures take Friday November 4, 2016 of Miss Bunz's River Riding work sheet
A good point that Miss Bunz conveyed and I filed away is to teach geometric properties and relationships between these properties together. There are many playful activities to help students explore geometric properties: comparing shapes, combining shapes, sorting shapes, and patterning. Special attention should be given to location and movement as a separate mini unit. The separation allows students to think deeply about the properties of shapes and how they relate to location and movement. In my opinion, the different lessons help develop geometric thinking without confusion.
When I was at my practicum this week, the students constructed a 3-D figure (rectangular prism) from a net (a 2-D representation of a 3-D shape). Nets allow students to focus on the surface faces of a 3-D shape. Prior learning was identified. I understand just how important this strand is and how it helps students represent and describe objects, and their interrelationships in space (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2005). This activity assists students to develop spatial sense by visualizing and drawing figures so that they are aware of themselves in relation to objects around them. It was an effective instruction in helping the students understand the geometric concepts. Overall, I learned a lot of information that will be useful for teaching the Geometry and Spatial Sense strand.
Elisabethd. (September 6, 2008). Basic shapes [Online image] Retrieved from
What I enjoyed about this activity is that it was engaging, stimulating, and challenging at the same time. As a teacher, I can make the mystery shapes different making it fun for students to learn how to use co-ordinate systems. Depending on the grade level, I can provide simple to more sophisticated systems to identify and describe the location of an object, use a grid map and reflect 2-D shapes. Geometry is everywhere and its skills help us think logically in every day life.
A good point that Miss Bunz conveyed and I filed away is to teach geometric properties and relationships between these properties together. There are many playful activities to help students explore geometric properties: comparing shapes, combining shapes, sorting shapes, and patterning. Special attention should be given to location and movement as a separate mini unit. The separation allows students to think deeply about the properties of shapes and how they relate to location and movement. In my opinion, the different lessons help develop geometric thinking without confusion.
When I was at my practicum this week, the students constructed a 3-D figure (rectangular prism) from a net (a 2-D representation of a 3-D shape). Nets allow students to focus on the surface faces of a 3-D shape. Prior learning was identified. I understand just how important this strand is and how it helps students represent and describe objects, and their interrelationships in space (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2005). This activity assists students to develop spatial sense by visualizing and drawing figures so that they are aware of themselves in relation to objects around them. It was an effective instruction in helping the students understand the geometric concepts. Overall, I learned a lot of information that will be useful for teaching the Geometry and Spatial Sense strand.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Basic_shapes.svg
Another great tip from Miss Bunz: when teaching a split class, it does not mean creating separate lesson plans for each grade. The key is to create a work activity for the whole class that will provide questions for both grades. Consider this example: a 4/5 split class. If a Grade 5 student needs a refresher of the topic, they can work on the Grade 4 questions first and if they do not need the review, they can skip to the Grade 5 questions. If a Grade 4 student is strong in math, challenge them to try and complete the Grade 5 questions.
Finally, we attempted to integrate all the strategies we have learned into a functional 50-60 minute lesson plan that serves the need of the students and satisfies learning goals. I do not have enough experience to reflect about what the hardest part about planning a lesson or how I can ensure that a lesson is learner-centred. Maybe, that will be my next blog's theme. The fun begins! I am excited about the next step which will be engaging my students successfully, and positively impacting student achievement. This will be my next challenging goal.
References:
Small, M. (2013). Third edition making math meaningful to Canadian students, K-8. United States:
Nelson Education
Another great tip from Miss Bunz: when teaching a split class, it does not mean creating separate lesson plans for each grade. The key is to create a work activity for the whole class that will provide questions for both grades. Consider this example: a 4/5 split class. If a Grade 5 student needs a refresher of the topic, they can work on the Grade 4 questions first and if they do not need the review, they can skip to the Grade 5 questions. If a Grade 4 student is strong in math, challenge them to try and complete the Grade 5 questions.
Finally, we attempted to integrate all the strategies we have learned into a functional 50-60 minute lesson plan that serves the need of the students and satisfies learning goals. I do not have enough experience to reflect about what the hardest part about planning a lesson or how I can ensure that a lesson is learner-centred. Maybe, that will be my next blog's theme. The fun begins! I am excited about the next step which will be engaging my students successfully, and positively impacting student achievement. This will be my next challenging goal.
References:
Ministry of Education. (2005). The Ontario curriculum grades 1-8 mathematics. Retrieved
September 19, 2016 from
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/math18curr.pdf
Small, M. (2013). Third edition making math meaningful to Canadian students, K-8. United States:
Nelson Education
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