Massachusetts Department of Education
Similarity through Transformations
Create the ultimate miniature golf course. The 93-page model curriculum unit from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education contains nine lessons on understanding similarity in terms of both Euclidean geometry...
Curated OER
Geometry Patterns
Fifth graders, using graphic and word processing software, create geometric patterns by performing elementary transformations.
Curated OER
Tessellations
Young scholars form repeating patterns using tessellations. In this tessellations lesson, students identify shapes and illustrate three types of transformations. A website is included with the lesson which provides extension activities...
Curated OER
Get in Shape with Geometry
Using geoboards, computer programs, and hands-on manipulative materials, elementary schoolers engage in a study of two and three-dimensional geometric shapes. This lesson is chock full of good teaching ideas on the subject, and the...
Curated OER
One Good Turn Deserves Another
Young scholars make observations about shapes and 1-, 2-, and 3-dimensional objects. They conduct observations and make predictions regarding transformations of simple geometric shapes. They identify shapes that occur in household items.
PBS
Using Symmetry to Create Corporate Logos
Young mathematicians investigate the use of symmetry in graphic design. After first learning about reflection, translational, and rotational symmetry, children use this new knowledge to identify symmetry in letters of the alphabet and...
Noyce Foundation
Time to Get Clean
It's assessment time! Determine your young mathematicians' understanding of elapsed time with this brief, five-question quiz.
Curated OER
Cryptography on the TI-83 Graphing Calculator
Students explore the history of cryptography. They assess function notation and transformation, matrix operations, and the fundamentals of modular arithmetic. Using graphing calculators, students develop their own encryption schemes.
Curated OER
Does the falling tree make a sound if no one if there to hear it? (or communication via encryption)
Students explore encryption. They discuss the importance of cryptography in our daily lives. Students use games and cryptography to discover transformational geometry and modulo systems. They design their own encryption puzzles and...
Curated OER
Coordinate Plane
Students use computer applets to demonstrate three dimensional coordinate planes. In this coordinate planes lesson plan, students play a coordinate game and a maze game.
Curated OER
Graphing Using Excel
Fifth graders complete a series of graphs by gathering information and using Excel to graph the information. In this graphing lesson, 5th graders graph favorite desserts of the class. Student put their results into the computer and then...
Curated OER
Visualizing Multiplication
Upper graders represent multiplication of a two-digit number by a two-digit number as the area of a rectangle with dimensions of the two factors. They find patterns for the number of different base ten blocks in a rectangle representing...
Inside Mathematics
Rhombuses
Just what does it take to show two rhombuses are similar? The assessment task asks pupils to develop an argument to show that given quadrilaterals are rhombuses. Class members also use their knowledge of similar triangles to show two...
Improving Measurement and Geometry in Elementary Schools
Rep Tiles
In addition to the catchy title, this lesson plan provides upper graders an opportunity to more closely scrutinize the attributes of plane figures. In particular, they focus on the similarity of different shapes. Both whole-class and...
Improving Measurement and Geometry in Elementary Schools
The Sum of the Interior Angles of a Polygon
Junior geometers discover that polygons can be decomposed into triangles and that the number of triangles can be determined by a rule. Note that the Geometer’s Sketchpad® software is required to carry out all components of this lesson.
Curated OER
Property Lists for Quadrilaterals
Learners establish classifications of shapes by various properties (angles, sides, etc.). They introduce the important properties of common shapes. Students develop an awareness of the wide variety of ways the 2-D shapes can be alike.
Curated OER
Rep Tiles
Third graders use pattern blocks of one shape at a time to try to create a similar shape. They compare the perimeter of the new figure with the perimeter of the original shape and look for a pattern. Students use the pattern to predict...
Curated OER
Geometry Gymnastics
Students identify shapes and manipulate 2 and 3 dimensional objects. They view objects from different perspectives and review relative positions (near, far, between). They sing a shape song.
Curated OER
Reflections
Fifth graders create a reflection of a poygon using a Mira. They discover that a line connecting a vertiex of a polygon and the corresponding vertex of its reflection is perpendicular to the line of reflection. Students create a glide...
Curated OER
Tiling the Plane
Fifth graders use pattern blocks and triagular grid paper to reivew shape names, be introduced to the concept of a tiling of the plane, and determine which pattern blocks tile the plane. They are asked if they comprehend what a...
Curated OER
Building a Native American Home
First graders explore different types of Native American shelters. In this Native American homes lesson, 1st graders compare the shapes of shelters used by Native Americans. They build a home using the program "Community Construction...
Curated OER
Double Exposed Photographs
Students create double-exposed photographs, poetry, and multimedia presentations. In this artwork lesson plan, students explore cameras, poems, and other art forms to understand line, light, and other attributes that contribute to artwork.