I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Attributes

Essential Question:

How would you explain the statement, “Geometry is all around us.”

Bridge:

Sorting, Matching, Being

Content:

Basic Geometric Shapes

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: To engage students in the awareness that geometry is all around us.

Activity: Working in cooperative learning groups, students are challenged first to brainstorm examples of all things in our natural world that are not basically shaped in the form of cylinders or circles, cubes or squares, pyramids or triangles, or formed from either curved or straight connecting lines. Second they are challenged to brainstorm a list of all things made by man that do not have the same criteria.

Assessment: Participation and contribution to group activity.

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: To analyze the world of geometry based on their own experience.

Activity: Students post lists based on their collective brainstorming. The class as a whole decides if all items meet the set criteria. Their lists will be all liquids or gases; they will discover that all solids have a basic geometric shape or combination of shapes.

Assessment: Quality of group lists and student understanding of concept.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: To broaden student understanding of basic geometric shapes.

Activity: A. Working in small groups, students are given a set of boxes, each of which has one of the basic shapes represented on it. Given a variety of everyday objects, students will decide each item's basic shape and place it in the correct box. B. Students will place hands inside several "mystery boxes" each of which contain an item with a basic geometric shape. Students will identify and draw, and label each shape they identify. C. Working in small groups, students will kinesthetically "Be" each shape.

Assessment: Ability to complete each activity.

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: To provide necessary information and teach new vocabulary.

Activity: Using the text, teacher will introduce space figures and plane figures. Teacher will instruct students in folding paper and drawing on graph paper to better understand concepts of space figures and plane figures.

Assessment: Teacher verbal checking for understanding during instruction. Students' ability to recognize and define basic shapes.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: To provide guided practice for vocabulary and concepts presented.

Activity: A. Students complete review worksheets from the text working with space figures and plane figures. B. Students take pictures from magazines and coloring books. They trace and label the basic shapes or combination of shapes they see for all items in the picture. C. Students complete challenge worksheets containing designs with many overlapping shapes. Their task is to identify as many as they can.

Assessment: The quality of their worksheet activities.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: To provide students with an opportunity to "tinker" creatively with geometric shapes.

Activity: Students will use cut outs of basic shapes from magazines pasted on construction paper to create their own designs. Their task is to combine as many different shapes as possible while maintaining some artistic integrity.

Assessment: Quality of student projects.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: To extend what has been learned about geometric shapes.

Activity: Working in cooperative groups, each group will be assigned a specific geometric shape. The group task is to create a display of man-made and natural items which are composed of this shape. Large items may be represented by miniature models or pictures.

Assessment: Student on-task behavior and contributions to group efforts.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: To share what has been learned.

Activity: The final group display will be shared with the class.

Evaluation: Quality of group display, participation, cooperation, and delight in the learning.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: