Course Guide - USAID Teacher Education Project

6) Have students consider a square and a cube.What is a side? What is an edge? A face? A corner? A vertex?Which terms apply to 2-dimensional shapes? Which ones apply to 3-dimensionalforms? How do we use these terms informally? (E.g., ingredients are listed on the"side" of the "box" when we're shopping. But that "side" is really the "face" of acuboid when we consider that same packet in geometric terms.)7) Once students have considered these concrete aspects of geometry, move to moreabstract, undefined terms asking them to describe their thinking about the followingwords: point versus. "dot", line versus line segment, ray, degrees, plane, parallel,perpendicular.8) When addressing angles, ask which angle comes to mind first. (Most likely it willbe a 90-degree right angle.) Ask about other angles that they could derive from a 90-degree angle. Do they mention a 180-degree straight angle? A 360-degree angle?9) Sketch (no need to construct) different angles on the board. Ask students todescribe them. What terminology do they use?10) Move to geometric measurement and ask what students remember learning aboutarea and volume. Do they respond with formulas? If so, ask how young children(who don't know formulas) might be thinking about area. How might these sameyoung children think about volume? What about surface area? What kind of real lifeexamples do students give when discussing geometric measurement?11) Finally, ask about measurement as applied to right triangles. What do studentrecall learning about right triangles? Do they offer the formula for the PythagoreanTheorem? Ask how the formula might be proved. (Which is very different fromsimply recalling the formula.) Ask where the Pythagorean Theorem might be used ineveryday life.12) At this point you have introduced all the major topics to be addressed during this5-week unit.You also have an overall picture of your students' understanding about these topics.Are your students wedded to formulas? Do they see geometry around them? Do theyconsider how young children can approach geometry?