Geometry Made Fun

Most of us think of Geometry as a separate high school subject and therefore think it must be a higher level learning subject. However, many skills that lay the foundation for geometry can actually be learned from the very first days of school. Young learners can explore beginning geometry ideas like shape recognition through matching activities, solving puzzles, sorting, and completing patterns.
We start with simple, familiar shapes like squares, circles, and triangles. As students move on through the levels they will discover shapes they may not have learned before, such as the hexagon, pentagon and parallelogram. Students will then begin differentiating between, and exploring, 2D and 3D shapes. Higher again they focus on edges and vertices, measuring angles, fractions, and even using coordinates on a map.
By introducing basic geometry concepts early, children can build their confidence and feel more comfortable as they progress.

Geometry skill development through school:

In the junior school students will be beginning to identify 2D shapes, descibe them, and notice similarities and differences between shapes.

Students will be learning to:

• make patterns using shapes and then describe the pattern

• repeat a pattern already created

• make a symmetrical pattern and show the line of symmentry

To help support students you could:

• go on a shape hunt around home or on a walk

• encourage geometry language such as shape names, positioning language (above, below, beside)

Geometry in the middle school

In the middle school students will be confident with recognising and grouping 2D shapes and beginning to identify 3D shapes.

Students will be learning to:

• recognise 2D and 3D shapes

• guess a shape from a description

• recognise and show rotational and reflection symmetry

• give directions using appropriate vocabulary (left/right, above/below, next to)

To help support students you could:

• go on a 2D/3D shape hunt around home or on a walk

• encourage geometry language such as shape names, positioning language (above, below, beside)

Geometry in the senior school

In the senior school students will be building on knowledge and skills developed previously.

Students will be learning to:

Shape

• Sort objects according to their spatial features, with justification.

• Identify and describe the plane shapes found in objects.

• Classify plane shapes and prisms by their spatial features.

• Represent objects with drawings and models.

Position and orientation

• Create and use simple maps to show position and direction.

• Describe different views and pathways from locations on a map.

• Use a co-ordinate system or the language of direction and distance to specify locations and describe paths.

Transformation

• Predict and communicate the results of translations, reflections, and rotations on plane shapes.

• Describe the transformations (reflection, rotation, translation, or enlargement) that have mapped one object onto another.