Geometry and Spatial Sense, Grades 4 to 6 - EduGains

WORKING ON IT
On another day ask a few volunteers to show their most interesting logo to the class, and have
them explain the mathematical symmetry and the shapes found in the logo. You may want to
create a Logo bulletin board with the logos students have brought in.
Organize the students into pairs for the next activity. Hand out copies of Mov6.BLM2: Logo
Design, and go over the instructions with the students.
As the students are working, observe the various strategies that they use. Pose questions to
help students think about their strategies:
• “Have you thought of a strategy to find out if an object or shape has symmetry?”
• “Did you change your strategy? Why?”
• “Did you use any tools in the classroom as part of your strategy?”
As students are completing their logos, provide each pair with chart paper or large newsprint
and markers to record the strategies that they used to create and check their logos.
Make note of pairs who might share their strategies during the Reflecting and Connecting
portion of the lesson. Include groups who used different strategies for creating designs with
line and rotational symmetry (e.g., guess and check, rotating their design, using a Mira, using
dot paper and a line of reflection).
REFLECTING AND CONNECTING
After students have completed their designs and recorded their strategies, bring them
together to share their ideas. Try to order the presentations so that the students observe
strategies varying in efficiency.
As students explain their ideas, ask questions to help them to describe their strategies:
• “How did you select the shapes in your logo?”
• “Where is the line and rotational symmetry in this logo?”
• “What strategies did you use to include symmetry in your logo?”
• “Why do you think many logos have symmetry?”
Avoid commenting that some logos and/or strategies are better than others – students need
to determine for themselves which strategies are meaningful and efficient, and which ones they
can make sense of and use.
Refer to students’ work to emphasize geometric ideas:
• Designs can be made by reflecting or rotating shapes.
• Real-world objects contain line and rotational symmetry.
• Reflections and rotations can create symmetrical designs.
A “gallery walk” at the conclusion of this activity provides all students with an opportunity to
display their work, see the logos produced by their peers, and explain their designs to other
class members.
Grade 6 Learning Activity: Movement – Logo Search and Design 22