In chapter 20, the content goals for geometry include shapes and properties, transformation, location as well as visualization. I am not good in the topic on Geometry since young. During the activity on finding the interior angles, it took me a while to figure out the interior angles in a pentagon as I had to recall what I had learn two decades ago about isosceles, equilateral triangles, the properties of the shapes like pentagon, rhombus, parallelogram etc.
I have learned the five hierarchies of ways of understanding spatial ideas by the Van Hiele theory of geometric thought both in class as well in Chapter 20. Another thing that struck me in class is that “Diamond is not a shape”. What have I been teaching children all these while?
I began to reflect my teaching practice on “the 2Ds and 3Ds shape” after the lesson. Whether am I guilty of confusing children when I am showing them concrete items? Did I use the ‘right’ material?
I began to realize that sometimes, it is not easy for a child to visualize a certain concept if he or she has not reach a certain level of Van Hiele’s Theory and teacher must facilitate their learning by providing the ‘right’ material and giving ‘specific’ instructions. In Chapter 20, it is stated that the levels of Van Hiele level is sequential and to arrive at one level, children must move through prior levels. Children need to be given opportunities to explore and interact with content and these experiences the teachers provide are the single most important factor in moving children up in this development ladder.
 |
| An unforgettable activity |
 |
| Children using tangrams to form a square during free play. |
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment