Florence James

Visualization Project

Challenge and Selection    Visualization is a tool that as an elementary teacher I depend on a

significant amount. Helping students be able to visualize the story they are  reading, or the project they are about to create will help them with the process  and their comprehension. Visualization helps bring certain concepts to life for  third grade children.  To help students engage in innovation through a mathematical  and social study approach, the children will work in teams to create a tower with  toothpicks and playdoh that has a specific range of surface area, while taking into  consideration the type of building. This helps the students understand the idea of  area, size, and measurement in a more visual way.     Application    We begin discussing what area actually means? Why is area important? I

start sharing with my class how we are thinking about building a house but we need  to think about the size and area. I ask them to turn and talk about why does the  size or area matter? Children have a hard time taking measurement and putting it  into perspective. Though this miniature town, the children will be able to relate  their town to this one and understand measurement and sizing.     I now share with the students that they are going to be building a

community town as a class, similar to the town they live in. They are in charge of  designing a variety of different buildings for our town proposal, to share with the  Town Board Zoning Director. They will work in teams of three to create their  building. But together as a class they must think of the logistics and sizing of the  buildings. As teams decide what type of building they are going to construct they  meet as a class to make sure they have the different buildings that are necessary  in a town. The students will then break off into their groups of three. The children  will learn that the only materials that are available for them to construct their  buildings are toothpicks and playdoh.

Each student will independently sketch their building. They will have

approximately fifteen minutes to sketch their building. While sketching, they will  also have to figure out the surface area, height, and width of their building.  Students will then have an opportunity to discuss their plans with their teammates  to determine how they would like to collaborate their designs to make the most  efficient building they can.

Once the team decides on the structure of their building and is within their

surface area parameters they can start building their building. They might have to  redraw a plan together that allows them to collaborate their ideas. During this  time, they might notice that their structure does not hold the weight they  anticipated. They then have to consider, what works? And possibly try again. At  the end of the assignment, students should be able to present a building  representation from our town to the Town Board Zoning Director. Their buildings  are sized down from feet to inches, but will be a presentation of how they feel the  town should be set up, while tying this into our math curriculum of learning about  surface area.     Insight and Approach    One thing that I learned from this experience was that, helping students

visually put something into perspective helped the majority of the students  understand the idea of measurement and area. Some children were confused that  many things start off as a scaled drawing and then evolve into something larger.  The students were able to use mathematical equations to determine how large  their building would turn out to be.     Many of the students worked very well together. I was happy to see the

collaboration that took place to combine the original drawings to do what was best  for their team. While the students were working, I began to hope that all of the  children were considering what is working at this time. I met with the teams  throughout this process and discussed different aspects of their building with  them. We found things that might not hold up the weight on the top of the  building, together we discussed our findings and were able to adapt from there,  considering what else could work. Some students also learned that with their new  team drawing, they exceeded the amount of area space they were provided.     Another approach that could help the students understand the idea of area

and think about their community would be to make this activity two dimensional  only. By providing the class with a large sheet of graph paper, the teams would  begin to plot their building on the map, together as a class they would have to  determine the logistics of where certain buildings should be placed. Each team  would take turns using the graph paper. But I enjoy the idea of having the children  think in an innovative way to physically construct their buildings using materials  such as toothpicks and playdoh, it allows them to connect with other learning  styles.


Florence James Visualization Project Challenge and Selection Visualization is a tool that as an elementary teacher I depend on a significant amount . Helping students be able to visualize the story they are reading , or the project they are about to create will help them with the process and their comprehension . Visualization helps bring certain concepts to life for third grade children . To help students engage in innovation through a mathematical and social study approach , the children will work in teams to create a tower with toothpicks and playdoh that has a specific range of surface area , while taking into consideration the type of building . This helps the students understand the idea of area , size , and measurement in a more visual way . Application We begin discussing what area actually means ? Why is area important ? I start sharing with my class how we are thinking about building a house but we need to think about the size and area . I ask them to turn and talk about why does the size or area matter ? Children have a hard time taking measurement and putting it into perspective . Though this miniature town , the children will be able to relate their town to this one and understand measurement and sizing . I now share with the students that they are going to be building a community town as a class , similar to the town they live in . They are in charge of designing a variety of different buildings for our town proposal , to share with the Town Board Zoning Director . They will work in teams of three to create their building . But together as a class they must think of the logistics and sizing of the buildings . As teams decide what type of building they are going to construct they meet as a class to make sure they have the different buildings that are necessary in a town . The students will then break off into their groups of three . The children will learn that the only materials that are available for them to construct their buildings are toothpicks and playdoh . Each student will independently sketch their building . They will have approximately fifteen minutes to sketch their building . While sketching , they will also have to figure out the surface area , height , and width of their building . Students will then have an opportunity to discuss their plans with their teammates to determine how they would like to collaborate their designs to make the most efficient building they can . Once the team decides on the structure of their building and is within their surface area parameters they can start building their building . They might have to redraw a plan together that allows them to collaborate their ideas . During this time , they might notice that their structure does not hold the weight they anticipated . They then have to consider , what works ? And possibly try again . At the end of the assignment , students should be able to present a building representation from our town to the Town Board Zoning Director . Their buildings are sized down from feet to inches , but will be a presentation of how they feel the town should be set up , while tying this into our math curriculum of learning about surface area . Insight and Approach One thing that I learned from this experience was that , helping students visually put something into perspective helped the majority of the students understand the idea of measurement and area . Some children were confused that many things start off as a scaled drawing and then evolve into something larger . The students were able to use mathematical equations to determine how large their building would turn out to be . Many of the students worked very well together . I was happy to see the collaboration that took place to combine the original drawings to do what was best for their team . While the students were working , I began to hope that all of the children were considering what is working at this time . I met with the teams throughout this process and discussed different aspects of their building with them . We found things that might not hold up the weight on the top of the building , together we discussed our findings and were able to adapt from there , considering what else could work . Some students also learned that with their new team drawing , they exceeded the amount of area space they were provided . Another approach that could help the students understand the idea of area and think about their community would be to make this activity two dimensional only . By providing the class with a large sheet of graph paper , the teams would begin to plot their building on the map , together as a class they would have to determine the logistics of where certain buildings should be placed . Each team would take turns using the graph paper . But I enjoy the idea of having the children think in an innovative way to physically construct their buildings using materials such as toothpicks and playdoh , it allows them to connect with other learning styles .