On the surface, geometry in elementary school seems like it’ll be easy. Students just need to name the shapes they see, right? Well, not exactly. A deeper look at the Common Core Standards shows that there is a huge focus on identifying shapes by their properties, not just how they look. And that’s where things start to get a bit more tricky. In order to help students identify shapes by their properties, you’ll have to go beyond pure memorization and have students work with shapes in multiple ways.
Vocabulary Practice
Before you can begin identifying, sorting, or anything of that nature, students need foundational knowledge of the vocabulary associated with geometry in elementary school – and there is quite a lot! To be clear, students don’t need to master the vocabulary yet – that will come with practice. But they should be knowledgeable and familiar with various terms. Here are a few ideas for practicing vocabulary –
#1 Guided Notes
I’m a huge guided notes fan. These notes can be used to introduce, review, study, reference, and more. They can be used at school and at home (especially when parents struggle to assist with homework or test review).
These Geometry Guided Notes cover naming triangles using angles and sides, naming quadrilaterals using properties, and the quadrilateral hierarchy. With fill-in-the-blank notes and graphic organizers, guided notes keep students organized and make your lesson simple. Personally, I also display my notes using a document camera, and we fill in the information together. Super easy!
#2 Class-Created Word Walls
Word walls can be powerful tools for reinforcing vocabulary for geometry in elementary school. However, I highly recommend you get students involved in creating your word wall. As you introduce different shapes and vocabulary terms, have students write the name of the shape and draw examples on the card. You can do the same with words like parallel, perpendicular, and angle types. Then, add these cards to your word wall!
You can have a dedicated student take care of the card (a student with great handwriting, perhaps!), assign table groups a card, or have everyone in the class create a card and choose a couple to display.
#3 Anchor Charts
You might be able to guess what I’m going to say about anchor charts! Similar to word walls, students should be involved in the process of creating anchor charts. This could mean creating it during class and having students contribute to what goes on the chart (such as the definition or the examples to draw). You could also select a couple of students to help create the anchor charts.
Personally, I love anchor charts because they make great reference materials. You can hang them on the wall for use throughout your geometry unit – and students will actually use them! Also, if a student asks, “What’s a polygon?” you can point at the chart and challenge them to use their knowledge.
Using Manipulatives to Reinforce Properties
Geometry in elementary and beyond is a very visual type of math. I know we just said that geometry is more than just naming shapes but putting a name to things is a good place to start. Students should be able to sort, match, build, and describe different shapes. You can easily practice this with manipulatives. Here are a couple manipulatives I recommend using –
#1 Pattern Blocks
With younger students, use pattern blocks to practice sorting shapes by how they look. Then, have students identify the properties of the groups they created. For example, they likely sorted triangles and squares into separate groups. They can note that a triangle has three sides while a square has four. They may also note that while triangles have three sides, not all triangles are the same shape due to their angles.
For older students, challenge them to sort the manipulatives by properties. They can look for shapes for parallel sides and perpendicular sides. They can sort by angle types or the number of congruent sides. This is definitely a more challenging skill, and you’ll want to make sure students are crystal clear on vocabulary before getting to this stage.
#2 Geoboards
Another way to challenge students and move past simply sorting is with geoboards. I really like using geoboards because now students are the ones building. This ups the ante! When using geoboards, give students a list of properties and have them create a shape on the geoboard that fulfills those properties. Then, have them name the shape.
If you don’t have access to geoboards (or don’t want to worry about rubberbands flying across the room), then you can use the free geoboard app from The Math Learning Center. Of course, the activity doesn’t have to stop once they name the shape. Discuss with students to bridge the gap between the properties and the shape type. The more comfortable students get with properties, the better off they are.
Practice and then Practice More!
I’ll confess – I’ve been guilty of cramming my geometry unit into 1-2 weeks right before testing and hoping for the best. But if we really want our students to retain the knowledge, we must provide opportunities for repeated exposure.
This is where daily spiral review comes in handy! We all know there are a million and one skills and concepts to review throughout the year, but having dedicated time to spiral in previous material does pay off. Add geometry questions to your spiral review, such as vocabulary, shape identification, and writing the properties associated with shapes.
To make it simple, I’ve created done-for-you 4th Grade and 5th Grade spiral review problems for the entire year. These spiral review questions can be used daily during morning meetings, morning work, as an introduction to your math block, homework problem of the day, and more. There are 180 questions for both 4th Grade and 5th Grade, and the questions cover all grade-level Common Core math standards.
Teaching geometry in elementary school is no easy feat! I know that firsthand. But, by building on students’ vocabulary knowledge and helping them identify shapes using their properties – your students will be set up for success.
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