Week 4: Geometry and measurement

VISUALIZING

-In relation to the topic of visualizing, teachers need to ensure that by the end of the lesson, children should be able to form mental images of geometric shapes by using spatial memory and spatial visualization. Apart from that, children also were required to recognize and represent objects from various points of view.
- As to help the students to achieve those objectives mentioned above, activities for instance visualizing the shape could be carried out in the class ( Clement & Sarama (2000)). Children are told to close their eyes and think of a shape namely a triangle. Then, they will be asked to open their eyes and look around the classroom to find the shape that they they were thinking about. As to make the activities more changeling, the teacher can prompt questions like " I have a shape in my mind, it has six faces which are rectangle, and 8 corners. What is the shape that I am thinking?
- Apart from that, Clement and Sarama ( 2000) also suggested another class activities which helps in developing children's sense of visualization, which is game of quick image. This activity requires the teacher to show the image and quickly hide the image. Then, the children need to guess the shape and describe the properties of the image. In describing the properties of the shape, the children will need to use terms like number of faces, edges, and corners. By putting the terms into practice of conversation, children will engage in a more meaningful learning experience.
- In addressing the issue of visualizing to the students, teacher needs to put forward the notion of representing and recognizing objects from different point of view. Taking shape of a pyramid as an example, if it is viewed from the bottom, then it is in the shape of a square. If a pyramid is viewed from the side view, then it is in the shape of a triangle. By addressing these, it eventually helps the children to see how different shapes are put together to form another shape.

From the side view, a pyramid looks like a triangle, while on the bottom view, it is in the shape of a square.

LOCATION AND SPATIAL RELATIONSHIP ( Unit blocks, maps and spatial relation)

Young children should be able to specify locations and describe spatial relationships using coordinate geometry and other representational systems. In engaging the students in this topic, the engagement of map is highly recommended. Clement and Sarama (2000) suggests that map as a tool in teaching location and direction to the children. For instance, preschoolers children will be able to learn quickly if they have examined a map beforehand. Young learners need to learn about location, thus engaging the students with the use of maps is a good strategy.Clement and Sarama ( 2000) suggest that the children could mark a path from a table to the rubish bin with masking tape. Then, the teacher can draw a map alongside the path. The table which appears alongside the path might become something else, for instance shops or bus stop.

Suggested class activities : Students can work this in a group of five in which they need to create a village or city out of cardboard. Using the cardboard, they will create various shape blocks representing different buildings. As to develop the student's spatial ability, the cardboard is represented open as they can manipulated flat surface as to create a village. With the help of a small bee b
ot ( a simple programmed robot for the children), the teacher can instructed the children to move the robot from point A to point B. In explaining to the others what path needs the robot take from A to B, their spatial language is develop.




The village created by the students using the cardboard which serves as a map in explaining how to get from one point to one point.













The bee bot robot serves as a 'car' in which the students need to move it from point A to point B. In getting the robot to reach the destination, students need to describe the journey taken by the robot. In describing the journey taken by the robot, spatial language will be further explored and used by the children.


* Clement & Sarama ( 2000) also states that computer assisted activities helps in facilitating children's learning of navigation and map skills. It is perceived that young children can abstract and generalize the directions and measurement which eventually required them to move a thing from a point to another, for instance a racing car game.

Racing car game