ideas+for+units

Students investigate the properties of 3D shapes and objects and 2D shapes and how they can be changed through manipulation of concrete materials —for example, by: This investigation provides students with opportunities to investigate geometric properties of and terms associated with 3D shapes and objects and 2D shapes; to visualise and represent shapes and objects; and to make representations of shapes using nets.
 * folding or cutting rectangles of paper to make paper hats, paper planes, paper boats
 * folding or cutting paper to make different-shaped flowers for a class mural
 * folding squares of paper to make conversation starters (cruets)
 * folding and cutting rectangles of paper to make Chinese lanterns
 * folding and cutting squares of construction paper to make pinwheels
 * manipulating modelling material to create shapes to make toys, houses, jewellery.

Investigationsshouldoccurinarangeofcontexts.Forexample,studentscouldinvestigate:

• howpackagescanbesortedtomakethebestuseofstoragespace

• what3Dshapeslooklikefromdifferentviewpoints

• howobjectscanbeillustratedinadvertisementsusingdifferentviews,suchasfront,back,topandside

• howobjectscanbereplicatedusingmanipulativeequipment

• netsbycuttingtheedgesofpackagingboxesandunfolding

• paperfolding.Studentsfoldapapersquareinhalf.Whathappens?Foldinhalfagain.Whathappens?Dothesame

withatriangle,rectangle,circle.

Code breaker

• Recognisecontentwords:face,corner,side,edge,square,rectangle,

triangle,cube,prism,sphere,cylinder,cone,pyramid.

• Recognisesemanticdifferenceofwordsusedinmathematicsand

everydaylanguagee.g.face,cone,corner,side,edge.

Text participant

• Comparethecommoncharacteristicsofcommon2Dand3Dshapes.

Text user

• Explainthedifferencesbetweensquaresandrectangles.Explainthe

differencesbetweenbasic3Dshapes.Explaintherelationshipbetween

trianglesandsquares—4trianglesfitinsideasquare.

Text analyser

• Seemathematicsasimportanttoeverydayliving.Recognisesituationsin

therealworldinvolvingshapeandline

Ways of working in this topic—BytheendofYear3,studentswillbeableto:

• reflectonandidentifythecontributionofmathematicstoeverydaysituations

• posebasicmathematicalquestionsandidentifysimplestrategiestoinvestigatesolutions

• useeverydayandmathematicallanguage,mentalcomputations,representationsandtechnologytogeneratesolutionsandcheckforreasonablenessofthesolution

• makestatementsanddecisionsbasedoninterpretationsofmathematicalconceptsinfamiliareverydaysituations

• identifymathematicsineverydaysituations.

Unique attributes of shapes, objects and time can be identified and described using standard and non-standard units

• Standardunits,includingcentimetre,metre,kilogram(halfandquarter)andlitre(halfandquarter),andnon-standardunitsofmeasurementcanbeusedtomeasureattributesofshapesand

objects,e.g.centimetresandhandspanmaybothbeusedtomeasurethelengthofadesktop.

• Measurementsoflength,area,volumeandmassofshapesandobjectsarecomparedandordered,usinginstruments,e.g.usescalestocomparethemassofarangeofobjects;useaonelitremeasuringjugtofillandcomparethevolumesofothercontainers.