Exploring shape and its mathematical language through sorting activities
Lesson idea. Activities based on an original document from TESSA to encourage pupils to use mathematical language to think about shapes. There are sample materials and case studies of its use.
Teaching approach. The Investigation(ta) of shapes and geometry can be very rewarding. A practical approach using objects from the pupils’ environment can increase their motivation and interest. In this unit, you will be using everyday objects to help pupils develop geometrical skills, such as recognising, visualisation(ta), describing, sorting, naming, classifying and comparing.
Through games(tool) on the properties of shapes, the activity engages pupils in group talk(ta), mathematical thinking(ta) and vocabulary(ta). This open ended(ta) task encourages higher order(ta) thinking, and could form the basis of whole class(ta) discussion(ta)/questioning(ta) and inquiry(ta) projects. It can be used as a lesson extension, or as a preliminary task. (edit)
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| Title | Exploring shape and its mathematical language through sorting activities |
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| Format / structure | A set of Word documents. |
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| Useful information | The resource is intended as an example of how open-ended tasks can be used to encourage mathematical thinking, and exploration in the context of a teacher education session. It is also useful as a mathematics resource in its own right. |
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| Files and resources to view and download | The resource is described in full here, and is available to download as a Word document File:SortingExploringShape.doc.
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