Tips for Teaching Elementary Math

Primary Geometry All Around

Filed in geometry, Left Right Brain Learning, Left Right Brain Thinking, Math Games, Teaching Elementary Geometry, Teaching Geometry on April 5, 2013 with no comments

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Here’s a fun way to integrate math, technology and language in one project for your youngest learners. Mathematically, students learn about solid figures and their properties. Technologically, they use digital cameras and work with word processing programs to insert pictures, word process and format documents. Students practice writing original thoughts and grammatically correct sentences as they describe the objects they have discovered.

Start the project by having students take digital pictures of solid figures in their everyday lives. They can either do this at home or (if they do not have a digital camera) at school. The following chart lists the common solids primary students learn about and some everyday items children would be familiar with. Hopefully, your students will find numerous examples of each.

Cones

Spheres

Cubes

Rectangular Prisms

Cylinders

-ice cream cone

-construction cone

-cone used for sporting events

-party hat

-ball

-globe

-scoop of ice cream

-marble

-play block

-sugar cube

-dice

-tissue box

-cereal box

-stick of butter

-pack of gum

-juice box

-soup can

-marker

-dowel rod

-stove pipe

-rolling pin

Once students have taken their pictures, visit the computer lab so students can create their “Book of Geometric Solids.” Students can organize their books in a variety of ways. However, each picture should have one to three sentences to serve as a caption. Captions must identify the type of solid the object is and must tell something about that object. For example, the student inserts a picture of a soccer ball. He then writes, “A soccer ball is an example of a sphere. I play soccer every Saturday morning. It is my favorite sport.”