Adopt a polyhedron at school
The project &lduo;Adopt a Polyhedron” is ideal for math classes or lessons. It provides a playful approach to geometry that focuses on mathematical action. Students get the opportunity to discover that there is still a lot of unknown terrain in mathematics where they can actively participate. We have put together two packets and some further ideas that you can use to make the polyhedron adoption part of a school lesson.
Packet 1: Polly's Journal (age 10 to 13)
The Polly’s Journal packet is aimed at students between the ages of 10 and 13. Polly’s Journal is a learning journal that takes the students up at their level of knowledge and introduces them to polyhedra. In doing so, mathematical competences such as using a protractor and the construction of a triangle or polygon is repeated and practiced. The guiding idea of the relationship between space and form is in the foreground. With the help of the material, besides understanding mathematical representation, many other learning objectives can be extended. Learn more about the didactic concepts and how you can integrate the packet into your lessons in a meaningful way in the Teacher’s Handbook for Polly’s Journal.
Packet 2: Class set (all grades)
The “Class Set” packet contains up to 36 polyhedra that are randomly generated from the polyhedron pool. If you download it twice, you will get two different sets. Every student adopts an individual polyhedron. In addition, there is a short handout to coincide with the project and copy templates for two worksheets. The first worksheet includes a brief introduction to our project, as well as a guide to modeling and adoption. The second worksheet deals with forming mathematical questions about polyhedra. It provides a first step towards inquiry-based learning in which students are invited to take on the role of a polyhedron researcher. More detailed information can be found in the Teacher’s Handbook for the Class Set.
Do you have questions, feedback or more ideas for what to do with the polyhedra at school? We look forward to hearing from you! Write to us at schule@polytopia.eu.