Look Mom, No Worksheets!
By Miriam Rutland
Grade 1 Teacher,
Miami County Day School, Miami, FL
I recently began my 14th year in education with fear and trepidation. Our family had moved to Miami and I began teaching in a new school using a curriculum with which I was unfamiliar. When I interviewed for my new position, I was told about the fabulous math program the district was using called Everyday Mathematics. The program uses hands-on manipulatives and higher level thinking skills. I was also told that worksheets were a no-no. How would I live without worksheets? I wasn't sure I could give up my beloved "crutch".
As the year progressed, I began to venture out in mathematics. I made some startling discoveries; the less I talked, the more my students were engaged. The more I allowed them to touch and do, the less I had to talk. Some of my favorite discoveries were made while teaching geometry.
We began our geometry unit with polygons. After the basic introduction I had the students play a game. I would say, "I am thinking of a polygon with three sides and three corners..." and students would respond by drawing on a white board. The game continued with students responding as I described the various shapes.
The next day, the lesson focused on making the polygons with straws and pipe cleaners. (Pipe cleaners are cut into 2-inch sections and inserted into the ends of straws as connectors. Twist ties work well also.) Students were put into groups of four or five, and each group was assigned a polygon to construct. Each student had to make their own polygon and then check with each other to see if indeed it was correct. This was a nice multilevel activity. Those that were having trouble with fine motor skills were assigned triangles or squares, and those that were able to put together more complicated polygons such as hexagons or octagons were given the challenge to do so.
At the end of the week, I had a volunteer come to our classroom to do an art lesson using the painting The Enamel Saucepan by Picasso. The piece is a compilation of 2-dimensional objects in a wonderful still life. The students then took 2-dimensional shapes (pre-cut from construction paper) and composed their own works of art. Teaching this geometry unit was engaging for my students and fun for me as well.
The next week, I introduced 3-dimensional shapes. I began with an introduction of the shapes, showing wooden models as well as everyday objects to represent cones, spheres, cylinders, and rectangular prisms. (I had parents donate cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, cone-shaped paper cups, and balls for this lesson.)
For follow-up lessons, each child was given the assignment to come up with a 3-dimensional creation using at least one of each of the following: cone, sphere, rectangular prism, and cylinder. The students had to make a sketch on a piece of paper of his or her creation, and decide how many of each 3-dimensional object would be used in the creation. Then came the fun part! Each student took the objects needed and had to put together his or her creation using only toothpicks and masking tape. Their assignment was to make a machine, a building, or an animal. When all of their projects were completed, students were ready to paint them using washable tempera paint.
After this lesson, each student was given a paper on which to write the name of his or her creation, and list how many of each 3-D shapes were used. I also had each student write a metacognition about their project to explain what they were thinking when they created their projects and what they learned. Each student then had to make a presentation in front of the class describing their creations, explaining what it was composed of, and displaying its function.
Teaching this geometry unit was engaging for my students and fun for me as well. The materials were inexpensive, but the thinking was priceless. And we did it all without worksheets!