Friday Afternoon Lifesavers are exactly what they sound like: at the end of the week when you and your students are running out of gas, these activities come to the rescue. They are mathematical, engaging, fun, and give the teacher a much-needed break.
Kids become better problem solvers by solving spatial visualization puzzles. Part 7 of Friday Afternoon Lifesavers featured Twins; it asked students to dissect a figure into two smaller, congruent figures. This activity asks for a subdivision into three congruent parts. Students are given non-standard shapes and asked to divide them into two congruent parts. Kids love this type of challenge; this activity engages all students and gives the teacher the opportunity to circulate the room and give encouragement and advice as needed without student management issues.
This activity provides the teacher the option to teach/reinforce the concepts of congruence and geometric transformations. Also available here are area, distance, angular measure, and perimeter teaching opportunities.
After students solve as many shape puzzles as they can, the teacher has the chance to take them to the next level. Hand out some blank grid paper and encourage them to create their own Triples; the only requirement is that line segments must begin and end on the intersection of two grid lines. By asking them to design these types of puzzles, students can appreciate the skill it takes to create a good puzzle by turning two congruent shapes into a larger shape and “disguising the line of separation.”
The downloadable pdf file includes the Student Puzzle Page, a Solution Page, and a blank grid page.
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hello Mr Lombard
can I translate these activities in Persian language(Of course with your name and subject reference) for my weblog?
Hello Hamid,
I always allow others to translate materials into their own language as long as proper attribution is given. It’s my pleasure to help “spread the mathematical word” to others who enjoy math as much as I do. Best wishes,
-Mr. L
[...] Bill Lombard at Mr. L’s Math offers a couple more of his Friday Afternoon Lifesavers: Twins and Triples, Exploring Congruence and Transformations. [...]
Very interactive