EACH GROUP OF FOUR STUDENTS NEED:

• LAMINATED SETS OF 2D PROBLEM CARDS AND 3D PROBLEM CARDS (4 CARDS IN EACH SET)
• A SET OF 2D FIGURES SUCH AS ALPHA SHAPES, PATTERN BLOCKS, ATTRIBUTE BLOCKS OR PAPER EXAMPLES
• A SET OF 3D SOLIDS OR PAPER EXAMPLES

PROCEDURE: STEP ONE

1. CHOOSING A COLOR FOR EACH PROBLEM SET HELPS YOU KEEP THESE CARDS ORGANIZED. FOR INSTANCE, IF ALL 2D CARDS ARE ORANGE AND ALL 3D CARDS ARE GREEN, YOU HAVE ONLY TO KEEP TRACK OF CARDS 1-4 IN EACH SET.
   • MULTIPLE PROBLEMS WILL REQUIRE ADDITIONAL COLORS.
   • LAMINATING ENSURES DURABILITY.
2. STUDENTS WORK IN GROUPS OF FOUR. EACH STUDENT RECEIVES ONE OF THE PROBLEM CARDS. HE OR SHE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR READING THE INFORMATION ON THAT CARD.
3. THE STUDENT WITH THE MOST LETTERS IN HIS/HER LAST NAME BEGINS BY READING THE CARD. STUDENTS MAY ASK QUESTIONS OR FOR CLARIFICATION BUT MAY NOT READ THE CARD.
4. AS A TEAM STUDENTS ARE TO ELIMINATE THE FIGURES OR SOLIDS (DEPENDING ON THE PROBLEM) THAT DO NOT MATCH THE CLUE.
5. THE PROCESS CONTINUES WITH THE STUDENT TO THE RIGHT READING HIS/HER CARD. THE STUDENTS CONTINUE IN THIS WAY UNTIL THEY HAVE FOUND ONE OR MORE SOLUTIONS THAT MATCH ALL FOUR OF THE CLUES PROVIDED.
6. STUDENT GROUPS DISCUSS AND SHARE ALOUD THE STRATEGIES THEY USED FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM. HOW DO THEY KNOW THEIR SOLUTION IS ACCEPTABLE?

PROCEDURE: STEP TWO

1. STUDENTS WORK WITH THEIR GROUP TO CREATE A COOPERATIVE GEOMETRY PROBLEM FOR ANOTHER GROUP TO SOLVE. BEGIN BY DISCUSSING THE ATTRIBUTES OF A WELL WRITTEN PROBLEM. USE THESE CRITERIA TO CREATE AN ASSESSMENT RUBRIC WITH THE STUDENTS.
2. STUDENTS CHOOSE ONE EXAMPLE FROM THE FIGURES OR SOLIDS SETS. THEY ARE TO WRITE FOUR CLUES THAT CAN BE USED TOGETHER TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
3. STUDENTS WORK IN REVERSE READING EACH CLUE TO CHECK FOR CLARITY AND ELIMINATING ITEMS FROM THEIR SET AS THEY READ EACH CLUE.

CLOSURE:

• STUDENTS SHARE COOPERATIVE PROBLEMS. TAKING AN EXAMPLE PROBLEM SET HOME STUDENTS MIGHT COMPLETE A NEW PROBLEM WITH FAMILY TO SHARE WITH THE CLASS.

BIG QUESTIONS:

• HOW DO FIND YOUR SOLUTIONS? HOW DO YOU USE THE INFORMATION ON THE CARDS TO HELP YOU?
• WHAT DO YOU DO TO CHECK YOUR WORK? HOW DO YOU KNOW YOUR ANSWER IS CORRECT?
• WHAT INFORMATION DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EACH SHAPE TO KNOW IF IT IS A REASONABLE SOLUTION?

 

CELS: PSVS, COMMUNICATION, NUMERACY, CCT

OBJECTIVES:

• P-1 ESTABLISH AND/OR DEMONSTRATE AN UNDERSTANDING OF A PROBLEM BY A) USING MANIPULATIVES H) REPHRASING THE PROBLEM
• P-2 DESIGN A PLAN AND SOLVE PROBLEMS USING ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING STRATEGIES A) USE MANIPULATIVES; I) GUESS AND CHECK; O) ELIMINATE POSSIBILITIES
• P-5 EXPLAIN HOW THE SOLUTION WAS OBTAINED
• P-6 JUDGE THE REASONABLENESS OF THE RESULTS BY A) REVIEWING THE PROBLEM AND PROCESS USED; B) COMPARING TO SIMILAR PROBLEMS
• P-8 CREATE PROBLEMS SIMILAR TO THOSE SOLVED
• G-1 DESIGN CLASSIFICATIONS AND SORT THREE-DIMENSIONAL OBJECTS ACCORDING TO VARIOUS CHARACTERISTICS
• G-4 IDENTIFY THE PROPERTIES [FACES, CORNERS(VERTICES), AND EDGES] AND COMPARE THREE-DIMENSIONAL OBJECTS
• G-17 RECOGNIZE, DRAW, AND NAME A) POINT, LINE, LINE SEGMENT; B) PARALLEL LINES
• G-18 MATCH CONGRUENT (SAME SIZE, SAME SHAPE) TWO-DIMENSIONAL FIGURES