Measurement and Geometry
Measurement and Geometry are related concepts that fall under what previous curricula called Shape & Space. Throughout K-7, the big ideas all share the foundational concept of the ability to describe, measure, and compare spatial relationships. This key concept is a critical part of numeracy as our learners develop spatial sense.
In Primary grades students identify, describe, build, and sort 2-D shapes and 3-D objects by exploring attributes and recognizing similarities and differences. As they go through the Intermediate grades students learn to classify shapes by their attributes, including learning vocabulary relevant to each type of shape or object. Our visible world is full of shapes and objects that our learners experience every day.
Many of these geometrical concepts then connect to number concepts through exploring measurement. Over K-7 students measure and compare length, area, volume, capacity, mass, time, and angles. Students begin developing the concepts by measuring common attributes through comparison. They then learn to appreciate the value of direct measurement, at first using non-standard units and then standard metric units. Indirect measurements are figured out by using direct measurements, for example, using dimensions to determine an area.
Beginning in Grade 4 with symmetry, students also develop spatial sense with transformations. In Grades 5-7 students identify and construct transformations using slides (translations), flips (reflections), and turns (rotations).
As students explore measurement and geometry, there are many opportunities to connect to students’ lives, community, culture, and place. With these experiences we are honouring the following First Peoples Principle of Learning: Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
As we learn about key concepts in measurement and geometry, we will also be developing many curricular competencies. Three that we have chosen to focus on in our designing of lesson ideas are:
- Estimate reasonably
- Visualize to explore mathematical concepts
- Use mathematical vocabulary and language to contribute to mathematical discussions
Although these three curricular competencies have been highlighted, there will be many opportunities to develop many curricular competencies during the investigation of measurement and geometry.
Learning Story for Grade 3
Measurement and Geometry
In grade 2, students began their exploration of linear measurement using standard units (centimeters and meters) for the first time. In grade 3, students are greatly extending their skills of measuring.
They engage not only in linear measurement using centimeters and meters, but also kilometers. They use their linear measurement skills to estimate and measure the distance around shapes and spaces (perimeter and circumference). They also explore other qualities to measure: mass, capacity, and time. They use formal measurement tools such as scales, cups, tapes measures, and timers; as well as referents for estimating measurements. Rich experiences with measurement in grade 3 not only set the stage for deeper understanding of area and perimeter in grade 4 and 5, they also provide a foundation for multiplication and decimal numbers.
Students in grade 3 also continue the exploration of 3D shapes that they began in grade 2. They compare and describe attributes of shapes and learn to identify and name them. They also attempt to imagine and create nets that match each shape, playfully engaging in construction and deconstruction. They integrate this exploration with their measurement skills, estimating and measuring qualities such as mass, capacity, and the time it took to make each one.
Key Concepts
Measurement, using standard units (linear, mass, and capacity)
Students extend their understanding of linear measurement in grade 3 by exploring linear units (centimeters, meters, and kilometers), measuring around shapes and spaces (perimeter & circumference), and beginning to measure two dimensional space inside of shapes (area). They also explore other types of measurement, including capacity (the amount that a container can hold or the amount of space an object can occupy) using millilitres and litres, and mass (what we experience as the “weight” of objects (really gravity acting on an object’s density) using grams and kilograms.
Students will also use referents (objects with known lengths, heights, weights, or capacities) to which we can compare other objects to in order to estimate their measurable qualities.
Time concepts
Students will measure the passage of time using units such as seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. They will also explore the relationship between units of time.
They will also estimate the passage of time using environmental referents such as the length of shadows, daylight, or the position of the sun in the sky.
Construction of 3D objects
Students will explore 3D objects such as cones, cylinders, rectangular prisms, triangular prisms, pyramids, and spheres through comparing, describing, and naming. In order to describe similarities and differences, they will need to develop a vocabulary that includes terms for shape attributes such as faces, edges, and vertices.
They will engage in an exploration of 3D shapes involving both construction and deconstruction. They can compare these shapes to cultural, human-made artifacts such as bentwood boxes and houses; as well as natural elements such as trees, rock crystals, and volcanos.
Key Measurement and Geometry Concept 1: Linear Measurement and Area Measurement
Overview
In grade 3, students learn to measure and estimate qualities such as length, height, distance, perimeter, and circumference using the linear measurement units of centimeters, meters, and kilometers. They also learn about the concept of area: measuring the space inside of shapes using centimeter and meter squares.
Measurement and Geometry Foundations:
Foundational, supporting concepts and related competencies that are needed to develop this grade level concept:
- Identifying centimeters and meters on a ruler or measuring tape
- Accurately measuring between two points
- Developing an understanding of the relationship between cm, m, and km
- Having a referent for a centimeter, meter, and kilometer (e.g.: 1 km is 7 laps around the school field)
- Understanding what is meant by length, width, height, perimeter, and circumference
- Recording measurements and units
Progression:
- (Assessment) Measuring and rulers: what do my students already know?
- Measuring between two points using a centimeter ruler.
- Exploring a meter stick and a tape measure. They should be able to identify centimeters and know where the meter is. They should notice the relationship between the cm and the meters.
- Measuring between two points using a meter stick and a tape measure.
- What is perimeter? Students measure and record perimeters of shapes and spaces.
- What is circumference? Students measure and record circumferences of shapes and spaces using measuring tapes (or pieces of twine and meter sticks).
- What is close to a kilometer and how can we measure using kilometers? Students use a school field or track as a referent for 1 km. They use this to estimate the distances between other parts of their neighbourhood.
- What is area? Students are introduced to the idea of measuring the two dimensional space inside of a shape or space.
Sample Week at a Glance:
Prior learning:
- Identifying cm and knowing how to use a ruler
- Understanding what is meant by length, width, and height
Focus: Measuring length between two points using centimeters and recording those measurements.
Before:
Hand out rulers and engage in a quick measuring warm up: get everyone to put an object from their desk into “measuring position” (start exactly at zero) and then tell a neighbour the length of the object they just measured in centimeters. Their neighbour can do the same. Neighbours swap objects to see if they end up with the same measurement. Next, stop the class and demonstrate how to record those measurements in a notebook (e.g.: My eraser is 6 cm long). They will need to use this skill today.
During:
In pairs, students are going to take the items out of one of their desks and organize them into piles of large, medium, and small items (and discard or recycle any garbage). They will measure and record the length of 3 items per pile in the manner they learned during warm up. They also need to return the items to the desk as they go. One student will act as the recorder and the other will measure. Stop the activity when everyone has had a chance to measure and record a couple of items. Note that it is ok that some groups are more efficient than others. This is just practice.
After: Choose a couple of common items and discuss how students identified the length from the width. Also: which objects were the easiest and the most difficult to measure. Why? Students can demonstrate/share how to overcome those difficulties.
Focus: Measuring width between two points using centimeters and recording those measurements.
Before:
Begin by recalling some of the challenges that were discussed in yesterday’s activity. Engage in a quick measuring warm up: get everyone to put an object from their desk into “measuring position” (start exactly at zero) and then tell a neighbour the width of the object they just measured in centimeters. Their neighbour can do the same. Neighbours swap objects to see if they end up with the same measurement. Next, stop the class and demonstrate how to record those measurements in a notebook (e.g.: My eraser is 3 cm wide). They will need to use this skill today.
During:
Today, students are going to take the items out of the other partner’s desk and organize them into piles of large, medium, and small items (and discard or recycle any garbage). They will measure and record the width of 3 items per pile in the manner they learned during warm up. They also need to return the items to the desk as they go. They are swapping roles of measurer and recorder today. Stop the activity when everyone has had a chance to measure and record a couple of items. Note that it is ok that some groups are more efficient than others. This is just practice.
After: Choose a couple of common items and discuss how students identified the width. Also: which objects were the easiest and the most difficult to measure. Why? Students can demonstrate/share how to overcome those difficulties.
Focus: Measuring long lengths, wide widths, and high heights.
Before:
Continue the basic measuring warm up.
Now ask them to imagine measuring something that is much longer (or wider or taller) than it is. How about the width of the classroom? How might they go about doing that? Students can chat with one another about their ideas and then share them with the class.
During:
Students test their ideas. Allow each set of partners to try to measure the width of the classroom.
After:
Discuss what they did and what they found out. What challenges did they face? What did they do to overcome them? Did everyone end up with the same measurement for the width of the classroom? Why or why not?
Focus: measuring length, width, and height using meters
Before:
Provide a meter stick or meter tape to partners. Allow students to examine them and make note of anything they notice. Record their ideas on the board. Direct their attention to the cm side of the measuring tools, making sure they can distinguish them from the other sides. Get them to find 100 cm. This is an important spot! Why? 100 cm is equal to 1 meter. Encourage them to hold the meter between their outstretched arms. Can they do it?
During:
Challenge students to measure the width of the classroom using meters this time. Give them time to discuss how they might go about doing it. Then allow everyone some time to give it a try. Early finishers should double-check their measurements.
After:
Discuss what they did and what they found out. What are some effective ways to measure using a meter stick or a measuring tape? What did partners decide to do when their measures didn’t work out into perfect meters? Did they round it up? Down? Did they record both meters and centimeters? All of these choices are valid in different situations. In further activities, students can articulate what they decided and why.
Focus: Measuring and recording distance using meters.
Before:
Note that you will need a larger open space in which to measure today. You will need cones or beanbags that are different colours so that students can identify them. Students should be organized into partners and have meter sticks/tapes and clipboards.
In the classroom, demonstrate how to measure and record between two cones or beanbags (e.g.: The distance between the blue beanbag and the red one is 2 m). Show how you decided to round either up or down. You can also demonstrate how to record both meters and cm together if students would like their measurements to be exact.
During:
Take students to a larger open space (field, gym, multipurpose room). Students take turns being measurer and recorder, working through as many samples as possible. Allow students two switch recording and measuring roles part way through the activity.
After:
Discuss what was challenging about the activity. Might there be a better way to measure distance? What if you needed to measure an even greater distance? How might you do it?
After this week, you may want to take on a small, ADST project in which students can use their newly practiced measuring skills. Students can build and test catapults, for example, choosing units of measurement and recording different trials. They might want to test their long jump or shotput skills in PE, tracking their own progress. While working on those projects, you can expose them to a new unit: kilometers. When might it be useful to have such a long unit of measurement? Students can experience what it is like to run a kilometer and track their kilometers over time. They might research the distance between their community and other communities or important landmarks. If they add up all of their own tracked kilometers, might that equal the distance to one of these places? What if you added up the classes’ kilometers?
Suggestions for Assessment
By the end of grade 3, students should be able to identify and know the difference between centimeter, meter, and kilometer units, choosing between them to estimate or measure between two points. They should also be able to record their thinking using appropriate drawings, numbers, and units. They should feel comfortable discussing measuring tasks and problems with other students using measurement language. Finally, they should be able to accurately use measuring tools (rulers and tapes) to make an accurate linear measurement.
Suggested Links and Resources
These measurement links from Nrich Maths contain a wealth of activities and challenges relating to all aspects of measuring for students at a variety of learning levels: NRICH topics: Measuring and calculating with units (maths.org)
These are rich tasks involving a lot of standard and non-standard measuring opportunities:
Key Measurement and Geometry Concept 2: Time concepts
Overview
In grade 3, students are not learning to tell time. Instead they explore the passage and measurement of time using seconds, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. They will also learn to pay attention to the passage of time through observing the changing seasons, the length of shadows, and the position of the sun in the sky.
Time Concepts Foundations:
In kindergarten through to grade 2, students are often encouraged to engage in activities centred around the calendar, from tracking weeks and months, to recording events in planners, to celebrating birthdays. However, time concepts do not officially appear in the curriculum until grade 3. This is possibly the first time that students in your class have been exposed to activities that help them remember the days in the week or the months of the year (for example).
Progression:
- (Assessment) Weeks and months: What do my students know?
- Using a calendar to measure time.
- Minutes and seconds: What do my students know?
- Using a stopwatch to measure time.
- Using nature to measure time.
Sample Week at a Glance
Prior to this week of learning, students will have explored calendars, noticing the number of days in a week and that weeks begin on Sunday. They should also notice that months do not all begin on the same day and do not all have the same number of days. They should review the days of the weeks and the months of the year, perhaps by playing a simple game of “twenty questions”: one student (or teacher) chooses a day of the week, month of the year, or season. Students must only ask questions with a yes or no answer to try to figure out what it could be.
Focus: Getting to know calendars (days, weeks, months, years)
Before:
Note that this is an excellent beginning of the year activity! You will need
- Calendar printouts (1 per group): Blank Calendar – Numeracy Lab (edublogs.org)
- Laptops and a single calendar link for students to explore: Year 2024 Calendar – Canada (timeanddate.com)
- Students arranged in 12 groups (one for each month).
Assign groups a month to work on. Demonstrate typing in the URL for the site and switching to the month they were assigned. Explain that they are using the blank calendar page for collecting information and ideas. Today, they are simply collecting information about the numbered days in their month: when does it begin? What day does it end? If they have time, they can begin drawing out some ideas about what their month means to them or what tends to happen in their month.
During:
Students will use laptops and record information on blank calendar pages. Today, one student can be the recorder and one can be the searcher.
After:
Survey your class (show by hands up or standing up) about which months had 31 days, which had 30, and which had less. You can also survey about the number of weeks and which days the month began and ended on.
Focus: Getting to know calendars (days, weeks, months, years)
Before:
Make sure all students have at least three sticky notes each. Explain that they are going to put their birthdays and full names on the sticky notes. On the other sticky notes, they are going to draw small pictures of things such as weather or fun things that can be done in their birth months.
During:
Give students time to draw and add information to the sticky notes. Drawings do not need to be too fancy. This is all in the spirit of collecting information.
Once students have had enough time to record their birthdate and have drawn one picture on one sticky note, it is time to add their information to the rough copy calendars.
Place calendars on tables and allow students to move around the classroom, finding their birth month and sticking the stickies on the calendars. Images can go up in the spot where the drawing will occur.
After:
Survey the class (hands or standing up) about their birth month.
Focus: days and months
Before:
Record the months of the year in order on the board, but also have a way of covering them up or flipping them over.
Explain that they will be playing a silent game where everyone in the class will work together to put themselves in a line that starts with birthdays at the very beginning of the calendar year and ends with birthdays at the end of the calendar year. At the start they can refer to the list you made, but as the game gets going, you are going to cover up (or flip over) the months to make it harder. You are also going to switch up the starting month, since the year is more like a circle than a line. You can demonstrate how January follows December, for example, even though January is the start of a new year.
During:
Allow students to work silently to make a line in order from January birthdays to December birthdays. When they are done, students can stand up one at a time and announce their birthday. If there are corrections to be made, no problem.
Now switch up the starting month: September. You can also take away the reference list (in parts or the whole thing) if you think it makes sense to do so at this point.
After:
Students can return to their seats and quietly write: Which months come before their birthday? Which month come after? Can they recall the entire pathway from their birth month through the year and back to their birth month again?
Focus: Special holidays and events
Before:
Print off a school event calendar (Your school; 1 copy for each group). Hand out rough copy calendars.
During:
Students will work together to add special monthly events to their rough copy calendars.
Early finishers can go back onto laptops and research special holidays that happen in their months. They may add these dates to their calendars.
After:
Discuss favourite events from each month. Groups can share out one at a time.
Focus: Making a calendar good copy
Before:
Make sure that each group has their rough copy calendars, a piece of large poster paper, and a large ruler. They will be using this paper to make a large copy of their calendars. Demonstrate how to create the rows for each week in the month (start at the bottom of the paper and draw rows using your ruler) and then the needed days by measuring and drawing 6 vertical lines to form a grid.
Allow students to practice by flipping over their rough copy calendars and giving it a try.
During:
Let them give the project a good start. Making a good copy can be a good “when you are done” activity throughout the school day.
After:
Show off the good work so far. Finish off the block with a game of twenty questions: the teacher or 1 student has a specific date in mind, other students ask questions to try to be the first to figure out what the date is. The questions must be ones that can be answered with only “yes” or “no”.
After this week of calendar creation, students can create word problems using calendar as a focus. For example, they might say: there are 31 days in January. How many weeks can that be?
Students can also track the number of days, weeks, and months between dates. This can be part of a weekly or monthly routine.
Students can also learn to measure time by counting seconds/minutes or using tools such as stop-watches. ADST building activities are often fun for students to time in various trials. For example, they might build ramps of varying heights and compare how long it takes for objects to travel from the beginning to the end.
Suggestions for Assessment
At the end of this grade, students should understand the relationship between various units of time and be able to select amongst them for real world tasks requiring time measurement. They should be able to use mathematical vocabulary and engage in discussions about days, weeks, months, seconds, minutes, and hours. They should also make a personal connection to events throughout the year.
Suggested Links and Resources
Helpful time links:
- Whenever you can, use these digital stopwatches to make students aware of the passage of time in a variety of activities (clean up and transition times are particularly useful): Online Stopwatch (online-stopwatch.com)
- Interesting calendar number investigation from Nrich: Calendar Capers (maths.org)
- An exploration of calendar patterns over years: A Calendar Question (maths.org)
Key Measurement and Geometry Concept 3: Geometry
Overview
In grade 3, students will have had experiences sorting, comparing, building, and describing 2D and 3D shapes based on a single attribute (K-1). In grade 2, they deepened this exploration–sorting 2D and 3D shapes based on two attributes, constructing and describing shapes, and naming 3D shapes based on the 2D shapes they are composed of. They also have learned about important shapes in Northwest Coast First Nations design.
This year, students will continue to explore 3D objects such as cones, cylinders, rectangular prisms, triangular prisms, pyramids, and spheres through comparing, describing, and naming. In order to describe similarities and differences, they will need to develop a vocabulary that includes terms for shape attributes such as faces, edges, and vertices.
They will also engage in an exploration of 3D shapes involving both construction and deconstruction. They can compare these shapes to cultural, human-made artifacts such as bentwood boxes and houses; as well as natural elements such as trees, rock crystals, and volcanos.
Geometry Foundations:
- Knowing and using attributes of 2D and 3D objects to aid in sorting
- Explaining a sorting rule
- Describing, comparing, and constructing 2D shapes
- Identifying 2D shapes as part of 3D objects
Progression:
How this concept develops within the grade – where does it start? What are the learning stages?
- (Assessment) 2D shapes and 3D objects: What do my students know?
- Developing an attribute vocabulary for 3D objects: faces, edges, vertices.
- Reviewing 3D object sorting; practice the attribute vocabulary in describing sorting rules.
- Identifying 3D shapes by name: sphere, cube, prism, cone, cylinder (for example).
- Comparing 3D objects: how are two objects the same or different?
- Deconstructing 3D objects: What are nets?
- Identifying and constructing 3D shapes from nets.
- Comparing 3D objects to artifacts of cultural significance to First Nations of the Northwest Coast
Sample Week at a Glance
Before this week of learning, students have had the opportunity to show their teacher what they already know about 2D shapes and 3D objects. They also have been developing and practicing an attribute vocabulary for 3D objects by sorting 3D objects and describing the sorting rule. This week, they are ready to begin learning 3D object names and comparing them.
Focus:
Identifying 3D shapes by name: The Rectangular Prism
Before:
Find an example of a standard rectangular prism using a projector/TV. A photo of a wooden block or a brick will do. Example: Pacific Clay 8-in x 3.75-in Common Full Red Clay Brick in the Brick & Fire Brick department at Lowes.com.
Make sure you find a few different representations so that students will get a sense that rectangular prisms come in all kinds of dimensions. A tens rod is a rectangular prism for example. So is a book.
Show students the samples and discuss:
- What do these objects have in common?
- How are they different?
Let them know that the object is called a rectangular prism. Record this word on the board with an image for later reference.
During:
Time to gather examples of rectangular prisms. Students may work in pairs or on their own to:
- Use clipboards and sketch examples of rectangular prisms they find in the classroom or outside.
- Use technology (iPads, tablets) to take pictures of rectangular prisms they find in the classroom or outside.
You might also simply take students on a “3D Object Walk” outside and stop at various places along the walk, discussing what students notice.
After:
Have a group discussion with students offering examples of the rectangular prisms they noticed on the walks. Feature 1-2 examples where you break down the attributes of the rectangular prism: how do we know for sure that this is one? Does it follow all of the rules?
Focus:
Comparing rectangular prisms with cubes: How are they the same or different?
Before:
Give pairs of students 1 or 2 examples of a cube (a dice or a ones cube, for example). They may be concrete examples or visuals. Discuss:
- What they notice about the objects.
- What they share in common with the rectangular prisms they explored
- If they know the name of the solid.
Let them know that the object is known as a cube.
During:
Students will be working in pairs to build examples of cubes and rectangular prisms. They might use:
- Marshmallows and toothpicks.
- Square tiles and masking tape.
- Graph paper and tape.
- Mathigon’s polypad: Polypad – Virtual Manipulatives (mathigon.org)
Encourage them to push themselves to make more than one example of rectangular prism if they are finished early.
After:
Have a group discussion:
- After having a chance to make both objects, what were the main differences between the two?
- In their opinions, which of the two objects was harder to make? Why do they think so?
Focus:
Deconstructing Cubes: What do nets look like?
Before:
Ready one example of the net of a cube. Here is a link to a standard printout: Printable Cube Pattern or Template | A to Z Teacher Stuff Printable Pages and Worksheets. Fold it so that it forms a cube, but make sure you can unfold it to show the net during the demonstration. Cut off the extra tabs on the net from the printout (these are not necessary for the making of a true net).
Students will need materials for experimenting with their own nets. You might choose:
- Graph paper and scissors 1″ One-Inch Graph Paper (print-graph-paper.com)
- Square tiles and tape
During:
Let students know that today they will be exploring ways to make cubes from something called a “net”. Ask them to imagine taking this cube and unfolding it so that every surface is flat on the floor. What might it look like? They can discuss their ideas (or draw their ideas on whiteboards) with a partner.
After taking their suggestions, unfold the net. Let them know that there is more than one way to make a net.
Display the following link: Cube Nets (nctm.org)
Students will be using materials (graph paper or square tiles and tape) to help determine which of the examples form cubes and which do not. Work on each example as a class, giving students time in pairs to prove or disprove each example.
After:
Look at all the examples again. Discuss whether there seems to be a rule or a pattern that helps us know whether an arrangement of squares will make a cube (or never make a cube).
Focus:
Comparing cubes to culturally significant objects of First Nations of the Northwest Coast. Specifically: how is a bentwood box like a cube and how is it different?
Before:
Gather examples of bentwood boxes. These may be visuals you can display using a projector and pictures you have printed.
Locate a copy of “Raven Brings the Light”. There are several versions available, although we recommend the Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd version if you have it. If not, here is a video: Raven Brings the Light (youtube.com)
During:
Let students know that somewhere in this book is an important object that they will be exploring in math today! See if they can figure out what it is.
Read the book and discuss what possible object(s) they might be exploring in math. It’s good to let this one get deep! If someone chooses the box right away, accept that idea as one possibility and keep prompting them for other possibilities. Ask them to explain how they might explore their choices mathematically.
After a good discussion, reveal that the object they will be explore today is the bentwood box. Time to show pictures of different boxes. As a class, students can offer ideas for what mathematical qualities they notice about them. If you have printed them out, they can explore them in a gallery walk or with a partner. They might record their ideas on a white board.
After:
Display a cube on a screen or have samples of cubes. Discuss how the bentwood boxes they have seen are similar and different than cubes.
Focus:
Comparing bentwood boxes to rectangular prisms and learning how bentwood boxes are made.
Before:
Print copies of rectangular prism nets. Here is a sample if you do not have one to use: cuboid-net-1.pdf
Get scrap paper for students to play with (about 1-2 pieces each).
Select a picture of a bentwood box that highlights its rectangular prism shape.
Preview the videos showing the construction of bentwood boxes:
- Precision and versatility, Bentwood Boxes of the Northwest Coast peoples (youtube.com) (~5 mins)
- Making a Bentwood Box (youtube.com) (~ 5 mins)
During:
Students first cut out the net of the rectangular prism. They may fold and assemble it into a rectangular prism. As a class, discuss how it is similar and different from a cube.
Display the picture of a bentwood box. Is a bentwood box more like a cube or like a rectangular prism? Why do they think so?
Next, show the videos, starting with “Precision and versatility of Bentwood boxes of the Northwest Coast peoples”. After this video, discuss what they notice about the difference between traditional bentwood boxes and their paper nets. Finally, show the video “Making a Bentwood Box”. Discuss what they noticed about how the wood was bent. Imagine making a box with no power tools like the ones in the first video!
After:
Give students scrap paper and ask them to see if they can make a more accurate model of a bentwood box using scrap paper. They may work with partners. When everyone has had a chance to work on this, get the class together and discuss what everyone was attempting to do. What were some challenges?
After this focus on cubes and rectangular prisms, you would move on to exploring other 3D shapes and their nets. Can they tell which nets belong to which shapes? Can they name objects (natural or cultural) that remind them of each 3D shape?
Suggestions for Assessment
By the end of this grade students will be able to describe three dimensional shapes by naming and describing them. They should be able to connect various solids to their nets. They should also have an appreciation for the presence of 3D solids in our natural and cultural landscapes.
Suggested Links and Resources
- This is a detailed Polypad version of Wednesday’s lesson: Nets of a Cube – Mathigon
- This is a great little activity to extend the exploration of cubes: A Puzzling Cube (maths.org
- This is a nice way to connect geometry with calendar work (and investigation from Nrich): Calendar Cubes (maths.org)
These activities from Nrich encourage students to use mathematical vocabulary to try to guess the solid: Which Solid? (maths.org) and Guess What? (maths.org)