BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE The students should have prior knowledge of solid geometric shapes and the vocabulary used to describe these shapes. Students will draw and name solid geometric shapes of a cube, cylinder, sphere, and cone and list the number of faces, edges, and vertices/corners of each figure. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS What makes shapes different from each other? How do shapes fit together and come apart? How can a shape be described? MATERIALS Toothpicks 1 piece of construction paper for each student(black) Index cards Mini marshmallows (see task for choice) Bowls Small zippered plastic bags (1 per student to be used for investigation) by Dayle Ann Dobbs The Shape of Things GROUPING Large Group and/or small groups TASK DESCRIPTION, DISCUSSION AND DEVELOPMENT Comment: As students make a square, accept both rectangle and square as an answer. Discuss that squares are special rectangles that have all sides the same length. Then ask, could we “How use marshmallows and toothpicks to change this shape so that it is still a rectangle but it is no longer a square?” (Note to teacher: Remember, not all rectangles are squares, but all squares are rectangles!) Part I At a central meeting place, hand each student three toothpicks and marshmallows. Allow students to explore using toothpicks and marshmallows to create a line segment. This should be a quick discussion and exploration because students are going to have an extended time to create shapes in the next part of the task. Ask students what shape they could build using the 3 marshmallows and toothpicks. Allow every student the opportunity to explore and build the triangle. (SMP1,3,4,5,6) Part II
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE The students should have prior knowledge of solid geometric shapes and the vocabulary used to describe these shapes. Students will draw and name solid geometric shapes of a cube, cylinder, sphere, and cone and list the number of faces, edges, and vertices/corners of each figure. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS What makes shapes different from each other? How do shapes fit together and come apart? How can a shape be described? MATERIALS Toothpicks 1 piece of construction paper for each student(black) Index cards Mini marshmallows (see task for choice) Bowls Small zippered plastic bags (1 per student to be used for investigation) The Shape of Things by Dayle Ann Dobbs GROUPING Large Group and/or small groups TASK DESCRIPTION, DISCUSSION AND DEVELOPMENT Comment: As students make a square, accept both rectangle and square as an answer. Discuss that squares are special rectangles that have all sides the same length. Then ask, “How could we use marshmallows and toothpicks to change this shape so that it is still a rectangle but it is no longer a square?” (Note to teacher: Remember, not all rectangles are squares, but all squares are rectangles!) Part I At a central meeting place, hand each student three toothpicks and marshmallows. Allow students to explore using toothpicks and marshmallows to create a line segment. This should be a quick discussion and exploration because students are going to have an extended time to create shapes in the next part of the task. Ask students what shape they could build using the 3 marshmallows and toothpicks. Allow every student the opportunity to explore and build the triangle. (SMP1,3,4,5,6) Part II