“Giftedness is not what you do or how hard you work. It is who you are. You think differently. You experience life intensely. You care about injustice. You seek meaning. You appreciate and strive for the exquisite. You are painfully sensitive. You are extremely complex. You cherish integrity. Your truth-telling has gotten you in trouble. Should 98% of the population find you odd, seek the company of those who love you just the way you are. You are not broken. You do not need to be fixed. You are utterly fascinating. Trust yourself!”

Linda Silverman~Gifted Development Center Denver


Sunday 14 December 2014

Loved that Lesson: Technology Edition Geometer's Sketchpad

Loved that Lesson @Teachingisagift
Meg over at the The Teacher Studio is hosting her Loved that Lesson Linky again!  Be sure to click on the image above to find out what some other amazing teacher bloggers have been up to.


Loved that Lesson @Teachingisagift Geometer's Sketchpad

As most of you know, I teach gifted students in an elementary classroom.  These students bring a range of strengths and abilities to the classroom each day.  It is my job to keep them engaged and learning in ways which meet their unique strengths and needs. About 8 years I was looking for new and interesting ways to integrate technology into the classroom experiences of my students. I had been out of the classroom for over a decade working as an elementary science and technology consultant, so I called on a friend who worked in the math department to get some ideas. Caroline suggested I try the dynamic computer software "The Geometer's Sketchpad" with my students.  
I was eager to get started but first I had to have our IT dept. remote install the software on all the computers in our school.  Once this was done, we were ready to go!  Caroline came to my school and showed my students and myself the essentials of Sketchpad and we were all hooked.

Here is a simple 5 minute video that shows a little bit about the tools in GSP. 




My students were hooked, and I have used GSP ever since to teach the majority of my geometry curriculum in both grades 5 and 6. 

This year I wanted to do something a little different.  We had covered all of the basic shapes, points, lines and angles as well as triangles.  I was flipping through my math curriculum document to see what still had to be covered in geometry and realized that students needed to be able to construct nets from three dimensional shapes and they also needed to be able to recognize three dimensional shapes from nets they are shown.  My brain got to thinking about having the students use Geometer's Sketchpad to create the nets, and use it's unique ability to animate sketches to have the students transform the nets into their three dimensional counterparts.


Loved that Lesson @Teachingisagift Geometer's Sketchpad

Loved that Lesson @Teachingisagift Geometer's Sketchpad

Loved that Lesson @Teachingisagift Geometer's Sketchpad

I asked all the students to start with a prism or pyramid (as per the curriculum for this grade level).  I gave them some tutorial material on how to animate shapes and set them off on the challenge.  I have to say I was AMAZED that 90% of my fifth graders had created an animated square based pyramid or tetrahedron within a one hour period on the computers.  

In between our first and second visit to work on the animated nets, I realized that students also needed to be able to find the volume of prisms.  As I had already taught my students how to find AREA of shapes using GSP, I decided to see how they would do with finding the VOLUME of a square or rectangular prism (again this expectation came directly from the curriculum).


Loved that Lesson @Teachingisagift Geometer's Sketchpad

Loved that Lesson @Teachingisagift Geometer's Sketchpad

Loved that Lesson @Teachingisagift Geometer's Sketchpad

I challenged the students to create a square or rectangular prism for their second animated net, and then increased the challenge by asking them to find the volume of their shape in TWO ways. Geometer's Sketchpad will allow students to select a shape and "measure" the area, volume, length, angle, etc.  I like to have students use a traditional algorithm as well so that they can see the two measurements must match, therefore their calculations are correct.

It was great to see the students working diligently at creating their shapes, nets, and calculating volume.  All of the students were able to create the shapes, animate them and discover something about their measurements.  Some students needed more coaching than others, some needed more time, and some needed the ability to work with a peer, but everyone met with success.  Their next challenge will be to find the surface area of all of their shapes!

I love when I can turn a lesson that could be dry and theoretical into something hands on and engaging for ALL my students.  If you have never tried Geometer's Sketchpad you can download and experiment yourself for free.  There are tons of online tutorials and lots of pre made curriculum materials and student activities.  Once you start using it with your students, you'll all be hooked.


Just click on the icon above to visit the Key Curriculum Website for a free trial and more information.  In my school board, GSP is licensed by the board and all schools have access to it at home and school for FREE.
Check with your IT dept. to find out if your district has licensing.


Loved that Lesson @Teachingisagift Geometer's Sketchpad
For Getting Started Tutorials click on the image above to go to the Sketchpad Learning Center.



4 comments:

  1. This looks like SOOOO much fun! What a great way to really help the students "see" the geometry! Thanks for linking up!

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    1. Thanks for your sweet comment Meg but we all know WHO is the queen of fun math lessons...YOU!
      Thanks for hosting the LINKY and gently convincing to blog each month...sometimes it is the only time I get a chance to do so!

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  2. What a fun and engaging way to teach these highly visual concepts!! Awesome post!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I wish I had better pictures to do justice to the work the students did. It was amazing to see them make the animations with minimal input from me! If you haven't tried GSP with your students you should check it out in the new year...you won't regret it!

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