Growth Point 1

* This task is best conducted over two mathematics sessions.

Materials: A device which allows students to independently take photos, pattern blocks.

Activity: Look at a collection of pattern blocks as a class. Ask students if they can name any of the shapes. Together, draw the picture and record the shape name so that students can refer to it later. Students then go for a guided walk around the school looking for shapes in their environment. When they see/recognise a shape that was identified in the class brainstorm, they are asked to take a photo using their device.

Download the pictures that students have taken. Ask the students to look at the picture and identify the shapes they have found. How are these the same/different to the attribute blocks?

What makes it easy/hard to identify shapes in the real world? (2D vs 3D) What did you look for to help you match the real shape with the one in the picture? What’s the most common shape you found? Why do you think that was so?

Students draw the shapes they see over the top of the pictures to identify the shape and name it.

Related key ideas: Features, attributes.

Variation: Teacher takes pictures of shapes around the school and shows students zoomed-in versions. The students then need to go out in the yard and try and identify where that photo was taken and attempt to replicate it.

This task has been adapted from Pattern and Structure Mathematics Awareness Program (PASMAP) Book 1 (Mulligan & Mitchelmore 2016a) with permission from the authors.

Materials: Pattern/attribute blocks.

Activity: Look at the different shapes represented on the faces of the blocks. What do we call them? What is the same/different about them? Ask students to draw freehand each of the different shapes represented.

Looking at their drawings, ask, what is the same about your drawing and the block? What is different? What do you need to do differently when you draw the shape again? Students practise drawing shapes until they are able to produce a reasonable representation.

Related key ideas: Features, orientation.

Variation: Show a block to the class for five seconds then hide it. Students are then asked to draw the shape from memory. Ask, what did you have to do to draw the shape accurately?