Workshop # 3

Workshop # 3

Geometry : Castles and Shadows

The opening activity silhouettes showed the relationship between 3 dimensional objects and two dimensional objects . It is a great way to show the relationship between three dimensional objects (cylinders, cubes and pyramids) and two dimensional shapes. There are students who will refer to a cube as a square and a rectangular prism as a rectangle. This activity will certainly help students who are  having difficulty with these concepts.
I did not use the exact activity for folding nets presented in this workshop; however, I have used nets in a geometry lesson. In the lesson, the students used nets to make the different shapes. The students selected the correct net for each shape and then made the shape. I feel the lesson in the workshop takes the concept a step further and encourages the students to use higher level thinking skills.
I have never used the activity Design Your Own Instruction. However, I was very impressed with the 5^th grade students 3 D representation. He used a special type of grid which made 3 D objects appear more realistic. We were able to see his details more clearly, even on a television monitor. I would be interested to see his instructions for the toy. Obviously, this type of activity includes many NCTM standards and touches on many connections with other subjects. This is a great lesson for any intermediate teacher.
There were many important issues in Mr. Ramirez's classroom. I substitute in 3 schools which have large Hispanic populations. Greenville County has a significant Hispanic population. I have worked in several primary classroom where the instructor does not correct spelling errors . When this is done in language arts especially with writing journals I feel that it is appropriate. If I know that a teacher uses this technique, I follow it. Most of the kindergarten classrooms that I have worked in use this technique.
In Mr. Ramirez's classroom he spent a long time defining the word "side". When defining and describing geometric shapes such as  the face (by this I mean the flat surfaces of solid figures or space figures), the students should be given clear definitions. I use visuals (smart boards/promethean boards), posters, geometric shapes, figures in textbooks, a shoe box, a ball ). And I provide very specific definitions before the activity begins. If a student needs extra guidance, I attempt to allow them to use inductive reasoning as well as assistance from their peers who may have solved the problem correctly. Sometimes, it is difficult for a substitute to prepare all of the necessary materials on short notice.
Finally, the drawing activity with the kindergarten students using shapes to make different objects is one I have used before. I have used activities where students use circles, rectangles, squares, triangles to make scarecrows, boys, boats etc. I feel that the activity which asks kindergarten students to draw three dimensional objects shows the difficulty which kindergarten students have with that type of visualization. It also helps us to think of age appropriate activities and how we can modify these activities for different age groups.
Activities That I Will Incorporate Into My Lessons
I will incorporate the concept of identifying shapes into my lessons. I will design a lesson for kindergarten students which allows them to explore shapes. The students will take a walk around the school, or school yard and look for objects identifying circles, triangles, squares or rectangles. When the students return to the classrooms the students will identify the object they saw and draw it using circles, triangles, squares or rectangles.
I will incorporate the concept of solid geometric figures into my lessons for a first grade class. The students will be shown the following forms: sphere, cone, cube and cylinder. I will show the students a mystery bag with objects inside which are shaped like the geometric solids. Students will take turns secretly selecting objects from the bag and then describing the objects to their classmates. "It is shaped like a cylinder." It can be made from plastic or paper. "What is it?" The answer is a cup.