Geometry class objectives, cont.
First semester projects have included a presentation of various geometric art including tessellations, mandalas, and celtic art or the engineering feat of creating the ark. In groups, students must design the most efficient and effective Noah’s ark, to scale, complete with special engineering challenges specific to each group.
The year begins with students understanding the basic definitions of planar geometry. Properties of Parallel and Perpendicular Lines are taught using finger twister and spaghetti. Students use multiple labs to classify and discover properties of triangles, followed by proving triangles congruent using column proofs and using wicky-sticks to find orthocenters, incenters and circumcenters.
Students discover quadrilaterals and their properties using hands-on labs using rulers and protractors. Ratios and proportions begin the unit on similarity as well as the beginning of the house project. For the house project students are required to design their dream home, calculate the square footage, cost of flooring, and one creative element such as illustrations, advertisements, 3-D model or interior design.
The unit on right triangles is particularly important to students because it is a building block for the years to come. Students review how to use Pythagoras, the special properties of 45-45-90 triangles and 30-60-90 triangles as well as a very important trigonometry boot camp. The unit closes with a test as well as a CSI lab where students are required to use their trigonometry to solve a “who dunnit?” school mystery.
The year ends with a look at circles and their properties followed by areas of polygons and volumes of solids. Students will have circle challenges, pond challenges, circumference challenges as well as multiple hands on challenges leading students to discover relationships between the solids.
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