Grades 5-12
13 yrs teaching
Supplies: attribute blocks and handout
Shaping Up
Even my high school students are delighted when I pass out attribute blocks. If fact, they were sad when they handout directed them to put away their shapes. The manipulatives helped my student review polygon terminology. Even though I used this lesson as a final review, students focused. (I teach an Informal Geometry course which is designed for students who struggle with math. Today, one young lady and I discussed the name of the trapezoid and rhombi.) When student to think about the shapes differently, when they manipulate plastic polygons, they consider again the attributes of a shape that give it its name.
This lesson allows students to think of shapes as the sum of other shapes. Soon, we will be working on the concepts of area and volume where dividing shapes is helpful. For example, the area of a triangle is found by dividing a parallelogram in two. Also, when finding the area of a non-rectangular floor it is simpler to divide it into separate polygons like triangles and rectangles.
Regardless of the age of your students, be brave. Pull out the manipulatives even if the students have seen them in years past. Perhaps your students will enjoy the hands-on activity as much as mine did.