Learning Strategies

     In sixth grade it is difficult to understand shapes and angle measure, and it becomes more difficult when they become 3-D objects. I know I struggled with polygons and tetrahedron when I was in elementary school and in junior high. The sixth grade teacher I am observing saw how hard it was for students to grasp these new shapes and how to calculate the number of faces, lateral surface area, etc. So he designed a very hands on and active lesson for the kids. I participated for the lack of students in one group, and really enjoyed it. He had volunteer parents roll up newspapers into tiny rods so we could use them as edges of the shapes. Each student was given four newspaper rods. Next he asked the students to get into pairs and make a triangular based pyramid. I watched as students built the base of the pyramid and then communicated the best way to build the pyramid and still hold all the vertices in their hands. The teacher then asked how many faces and edges it had. Once the majority of the class had successfully made a pyramid a new polygon was called out. This went on for twenty minutes, with each shape gradually getting harder and requiring more students to help in each group. By the end the whole class was laughing and was able to make the shapes asked of them.
      This sixth grade teacher got all of the students involved (even if they didn't talk much), provided an opportunity for interaction and communication, and he also provided physical movement. This math lesson on polygons was so much fun the students wanted to do it again for recess. The teacher was surprised by the success rate he had with the students during that day all because he started out the day with an engaged and active learning opportunity. I'm definitely remembering this activity for my future classroom.