Geometry Part 5: Composing and Decomposing 3D Shapes (+ surface area)

by C. Elkins, OK Math and Reading Lady

Composing and decomposing 3D shapes should help your students become more familiar with their attributes. Here are a few activities to help.  With emphasis on hands-on methods, examining real 3D shapes may help students find edges, vertices, and faces better than pictorial models.

  1.  Nets of 3D shapes are the least expensive way to get a set of 3D objects in each child’s hand, especially since most classrooms just usually have 1 set of plastic or wooden 3D shapes.
  2.  Build cubes and rectangular prisms using blocks or connecting cubes.
  3. Construct / deconstruct prisms using toothpicks, straws, coffee stirrers, craft sticks, or pretzel sticks as the edges. For the vertices, use clay, playdough, gum drops or slightly dried out marshmallows.
  4. Lucky enough to have a set of tinker toys? Or Magna Tiles? (We got our grandson some Magna Tiles and he loves them!  These tiles have magnetic edges which can hook together in an instant. Creating a cube, rectangular prism, pyramid, etc. is easy!  They are kind of expensive, but very versatile and creative.)
  5. Teach students how to draw 3D shapes. When composing a 3D shape, a student becomes more aware of the 2D faces, the edges, and the vertices they are drawing. Plus, if needed the student can draw the 3D shape on paper to assist them if taking a computer based assessment.  Here is my tutorial (below), but I’ll also include a couple of good websites in case you are 3D challenged. Click HERE for the pdf of the templates below.
  6. Observe how students count the edges, vertices, and faces.  If they are randomly trying to count them, they likely will be incorrect.  When needed, show them how to be methodical with their counting (ie: When counting the edges of a cube, run your finger along the edge as you count. Count the top 4 edges, then the bottom 4 edges, then the 4 vertical edges = 12.)

One of my favorite lessons regarding decomposing shapes is when teaching students (5th grade and up) how to measure surface area.  Click HERE for the free pdf guide for creating the rectangular prisms shown below.  It includes a blank grid so you can create your own (all courtesy of http:illuminations.nctm.org using their “dynamic paper” lesson). Continue reading

Geometry Part 4: More Composing and Decomposing

by C. Elkins, OK Math and Reading Lady  

There are so many good ways to help students compose and decompose shapes (2D and 3D), so I will focus on some more by using tangrams and 2D paper shapes. In case you missed it, my last post focused on ways to use 1″ color tiles and pattern blocks to compose and decompose shapes. Click HERE to link back to that.

  1. Give students paper shapes of these polygons:  rectangle, square, hexagon, trapezoid, rhombus. Click here for a FREE pdf copy: Decompose and Compose Polygons.
    • Students should color each paper shape one solid color (a different color for each shape). My advice is to use light colors because they will be drawing lines on the shapes and light colors enable them to see the lines.
    • Model how to draw 1 or 2 lines to decompose the shape into smaller shapes.  For first and 2nd grade, I recommend you show them how to use at least one corner of the shape to connect to another corner or side using a straight edge or ruler. This way the newly created shapes will resemble ones they already know (triangle, trapezoid, rectangle). Older students can be given a little more leeway — their decomposing may result in other more irregular polygons. Here is one way to decompose.
    • Cut apart on the lines. Have students put their initials or name on the back of each piece (in case it gets separated or ends up on the floor).
    • Each student puts their cut-up pieces in a baggy for safe-keeping. Then the student can take them out and try to compose them back into their original shapes.  This is where the color-coding comes in handy (all the yellow go together, all the green, etc.).
    • Students can trade their baggies with others to compose their shapes.
    • When students are done with the shape puzzles, they can glue them back together on background construction paper (or take them home for practice, or keep at school for ongoing work).
    • Discuss together how many different ways these shapes were decomposed using 1 or 2 lines.
  2. Use the book, “The Greedy Triangle” by Marilyn Burns as a springboard to compose other polygons using various numbers of triangles.  In this book, the triangle keeps adding a shape to himself (after a visit to the “Shapeshifter”). There are many good pictures in this book illustrating common things with the named shape.  This is also a great way to connect art to math. You can start with squares which the students must cut in half on the diagonal, or start with pre-cut triangles. Length of edges must match. Level 0 students can just try out different combinations. Level 1-2 students would analyze the properties more and name the new shapes. You can even emphasize symmetry (as I have shown with the bottom row). Here is the link to the full article about this wonderful activity. Math Art: The Greedy Triangle Activity

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Geometry Part 3: Composing and Decomposing

by C. Elkins, OK Math and Reading Lady

Composing and decomposing geometric shapes (2D and 3D) should be centered around concrete and pictorial methods. In this and upcoming posts, I will illustrate some methods using various manipulatives and line drawings which help students take a shape apart or put shapes together. If you refer back to  Geometry Part 1: The Basics, all grade levels KG-5th have standards dealing with this issue. Some of the experiences I plan to share will also help students relate to multiplication, division, fractions, area, and other geometry concepts (such as rotations, reflections, slides).

Refer to Geometry Part 2: van Hiele levels to determine if the activities you are choosing are appropriate for Level 0, 1, or 2 students.

One Inch Color Tiles:

1.  Can you make a larger square out of several individual squares?

  • Level 0 students will be using the visual aspect of making it look like a square.
  • Level 1 students will be checking properties to see if their squares are indeed squares (with the same number of tiles on each side).
  • Level 2 students will be noticing they are creating an array (ex: 3 x 3 = 9) and perhaps learning about squared numbers. 3 squared = 9. They might be able to predict the total number of tiles needed when given just the length of one side.

2.  How many rectangles can you make using 2 or more squares? (Level 0-1)

  • Level 1:  Are the green and blue rectangles the same size (using properties to determine)?

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Math Art Part 2: Decomposing and composing squares and triangles

by C. Elkins, OK Math and Reading Lady

I wanted to show you another example of math art, this time using squares and triangles. This project also falls under the standards dealing with decomposing and composing shapes. With this project, students can create some unique designs while learning about squares, triangles, symmetry, fractions, and elements of art such as color and design. It would be a great project for first grade (using 2 squares) or for higher grades using 3 to 4 squares.

A great literature connection to this project is the book “The Greedy Triangle” by Marilyn Burns. (Click link to connect to Amazon.) The triangle in this book isn’t content with being 3-sided and transforms himself into other shapes (with the help of the Shapeshifter). Lots of great pictures showing real objects in the shape of triangles, squares, pentagons, hexagons, and more.

Marilyn Burns is a great math educator to check out, if you haven’t already. She has a company called Math Solutions (check out MathSolutions.com). Marilyn and her consultants have wonderful resources and advocate for constructivist views regarding math education. She is also the author of Number Talks and many math and literature lesson ideas.

The 4 Triangle Investigation

Materials needed:

  • Pre-cut squares 3″, 4″ or 5″ (I used brightly colored cardstock.)
  • Scissors and glue
  • Background paper to glue shapes to

Directions

  1. Model how to cut a square in half (diagonally) to make two right triangles. (I advocate folding it first so that the two resulting triangles are as equivalent as possible.)
  2. Guide students into showing different ways to put two triangles together to form another shape. Rule: Sides touching each other must be the same length. Let students practice making these shapes on their desk top (no gluing needed). 
  3. Help students realize they may need to use these actions:
    • Slide the shape into place
    • Flip it over to get a mirror image
    • Rotate it around in a circular motion to align the edges
  4. Students are then given 2 squares (to be cut into 4 triangles) and investigate different shapes they can make following the above rule. Here are some possibilities:
  5. As the teacher,  you can decide how many creations you want each student to attempt.
  6. These shapes can be glued onto construction paper (and cut out if desired).
  7. As an extension, shapes can be sorted according to various attributes:
    • # of sides
    • symmetry
    • # of angles
    • regular polygons vs. irregular

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Fractions Part 2: Constructing and Drawing

by C. Elkins, OK Math and Reading Lady

The standards (CCSS or any state) use varied verbs to describe what students are to do regarding fractions: form, compose, construct, model, partition, draw, decompose, share, identify,  read, write, describe, order, and compare. Satisfying these standards can often be accomplished through use of concrete methods (manipulatives) and pictorial models (drawings). Remember the best understanding of concepts usually follows the concrete, pictorial, abstract progression (CPA). In other words, “Let’s make it, draw it, and then use numbers to represent it.”

Through constructing and drawing, students will  be prepared for further work with fractions, and they begin to conceptualize the relationship between the size of denominators, the numerators, and the whole. Click here for a FREE copy of the pictures you will see below (3 page pdf).

Form / Compose / Construct / Model:  Use smaller shapes to form or compose larger shapes (which is also a geometry std. in KG and 1st). Put together fraction pieces or puzzles to make the whole shape (circle, rectangle, hexagon, etc.). Use fraction pieces to demonstrate understanding by constructing models of area, set, and length.

These pictures show different ways students can use manipulatives to form, compose, construct, and model fractional parts (pattern blocks, fraction circles, tangrams, linking cubes, color tiles, fraction bars, Cuisenaire rods, two-color counters):

Partition / Draw / Decompose / Share: Split larger shapes into smaller fractional parts (halves, thirds, fourths, etc.). Divide (fair share) objects into equal groups. Use models to decompose a fraction in more than one way. Represent fractions on a number line.

I enjoy teaching children how to partition common shapes into fractional parts – because it involves drawing. Too often, if I just tell them to divide a rectangle or circle into fourths or sixths, I get something like this: Continue reading