GEOMETRY IN PRIMARY EDUCATION

Hello! Today I come with an exercise to work geometry outdoors, while having fun! Yes, we can learn geometry while we jump and yes, we can also have fun. To prepare the activity, we have to create a circuit in the floor, all with geometrical figures. Here is a photo where you can see an example: Students can be the ones who draw the figures. If these figures are in different colors, it's more difficult because the students can't associate the figure with a concrete color. The more figures in the floor, the longer will be the activity. All geometrical figures can be drawn: triangles, circles, squares, rectangles, pentagons, hexagons... but we can also draw 3D figures as spheres, cubes, tetrahedroms, cones... Once the figures are drawn, several games can be proposed: - All the students are in the same side of the circuit and they have to arrive to the other side jumping in the figure the teacher says. - They have to jump all over the circuit and they have to ch...

Hello again!! Today I'm going to present this  site  I have found in order to work symmetry in a very visual way. Students can understand symmetry in a very visual way. The can choose the symmetry axis and draw everything they want. When they draw something, the symmetry appears in the screen too. The can also choose if they want a reflection or a rotation symmetry, the thickness of the lines, the style or the transparency.

We all know that perimeters and areas are a difficult concept to the students to understand, not only the concept itself, but also the relationship between the two of them. The fact that two different figures can have the same area but different perimeter or the same perimeter but different area it's difficult to understand. In order to make these concepts easier to the students, I've found this page .  Here, the students can built different figures with little squares and add as much squares as they want. As long as the figure changes, the perimeter and the area change too, so the children can see and experiment the changes. In the same page, there is also a game where they told you the area you have to reach, so you have to join different figures to do a bigger one with the area they ask for. In my opinion, this site is a very good option to help the children to understand these concepts by manipulating them in the way they want.

Hello again! We all know Tetris, aren't we?  But, how about using this additive game to work geometry?  All we have to do is print the board and the pieces. Then, there are few ways to play Paper Tetris, but the end goal of this game is to have the least amount of empty spots on the board after the first piece reaches the top of the board. Each empty spot we have after game is over counts as 1 score. The smaller the score number, the better. We can note the scores on the scoresheet. LEVEL 1 (easy version): Place all the cut out pieces next to the tetris board. Take one by one and try to fit all of them as good as you can leaving the least amount of empty spots possible. LEVEL 2 (harder version): Place all pieces in a non-transparent bag. Pull out the pieces in a random way and try to fit them on the board without looking while you pick the pieces. Here is a  video  where the game is showed. In addition, we can use different app to play th...

The GeoBoard is a very interesting manipulative material to work with in class. Physical manipulatives and visual models help children to make sense of mathematical concepts, and the student playing with his toy is laying the groundwork for future geometry understanding. The bands invite the students to explore and to increase the mathematical understanding. In the very early grades, teachers often introduce the geoboard by modeling how to use it safely and encouraging students to experiment by stretching the bands to form parallel lines. Then young learners can transform the lines into stars and other shapes of their own design. These simple constructions set the foundation for learning about edges, corners, sizes of shapes, and area. It's very useful to start working the geometrical shapes with the younger children and it can be also used to learn about the areas and the addition or subtraction with older students. The manipulation is a positive aspect which make lear...

Hello! Today I'm going to present a very interesting app I've found which allows to learn about the different types of 3D solids and which help students understand geometry in a pleasant way. ‘Shapes’ uses the power of mobile devices to enhance teacher capabilities and provide possibilities to show things that cannot be shown with physical tools. It also allows the students to print off shape diagrams. Then they can follow the step by step fully illustrated instructions to turn the piece of paper into a tangible 3D shape. The following video shows perfectly the way the app works. In my opinion, this is a fantastic way for the students to learn, because they can manipulate the shapes however they want so they can solve their own doubts and curiosity.

Why is important to teach geometry in a manipulative way? According to Dale’s Cone of Experience, the best way for the students to learn is being active in their own learning.  What does it mean? It means that learning through active techniques has the result of 90% retention. It proves that people learn best when they use their senses. The more sensory channels interacting with a resource, the better chance that many students can learn from it.  According to Dale, teachers should design the kind of activities based real-life experiences.  In order to applicate this principle to Maths, we have to propose to the students the maximum number of manipulative exercises. There are some options to work Geometry in a manipulative way. The most famous resource is the TANGRAM. It's a game which consists of 7 wooden pieces with a geometric shape. The objective of this game is to create different figures, using all the pieces of the game. Here is a video where t...

Geometry is everywhere in nature. No matter which place we look, we can find lines, angles, shapes, curves and a lot of other aspects related to geometry. When we know what to look for, it becomes obvious. In the natural world around us, patterns are everywhere: in the way plants branch out in their growing process, in the forms of the clouds, in the animals, in the snow and even in the universe. Similar patterns are always repeating themselves, over and over again. As showed in this video, we can find geometry everywhere if we pay attention. Geometry is something very present in our lives, even if the most part of the time we are not aware of it.

Since we are babies, we are attracted to patterns, designs and shapes.  Our parents usually reinforce this interest by buying toys or mobiles with brightly colored shapes, pictures or designs.    We are attracted to these items before we are even able to reach, grasp or manipulate them. Later, when we are a little older, we use manipulative toys in order to develop these types of skills. These shapes and designs are based on the mathematical field of geometry.  It's very important to promote children's interest in this kind of games, since they have a lot of benefits in the development of their intelligence and skills.

Hello everyone! I'm Marina Fernández Muñoz and I start this blog for the subject "Didactics of Geometry", which belongs to the Degree in Primary Education. In this blog, I'll add information I consider interesting about the Didactics of Geometry in Primary Education. This information can be useful in the future as teachers. I'll look for original activities, resources and apps which can be used in Primary School to increase the students' interest about maths. Welcome to my little space. Marina.