"Geotown" Scrapbook

NCTM Standard:
Grades 3-5:
* identify, compare, and analyze attributes of two- and three-dimensional shapes and develop vocabulary to describe the attributes;
* classify two- and three-dimensional shapes according to their properties and develop definitions of classes of shapes such as triangles and pyramids;
* investigate, describe, and reason about the results of subdividing, combining, and transforming shapes;

NC Standard Course of Study
Math Grade 4
*3.02 Describe the relative position of lines using concepts of parallelism and perpendicularity.

Math Grade 5
*3.01 Identify, define, describe, and accurately represent triangles, quadrilaterals, and other polygons.
*3.03 Classify plane figures according to types of symmetry (line, rotational).

Project Description:
Students will used digital cameras to take photos of geometrical concepts. Students should focus on plane figures, polygons, symmetry, and line concepts (perpendicular, parallel, line segment, etc.). Students will use photos to create a "Geotown" Scrapbook. Each photo will need to have a caption that includes geometric concept and brief description of how the "townsfolk" are impacted. (Ex: In Geotown, students walk to school along the "Sidewalk of Squares". Each section of the sidewalk forms the polygon that we call a square.)

Essential Question:
How are we affected by geometry in our everyday lives?

Teacher Input:
The teacher will describe the project to students giving the expectations and guidelines for the finished product. The teacher should prepare a brief example to show the students so that they can visualize what they are expected to produce.

Guided Practice:
The teacher will guide students in the use of the digital cameras. Emphasis should be placed on responsibility and care of the equipment. Briefly show tips/tricks of basic photography.

Independent Practice:
The students will search for geometric concepts outlined in the project presentation. After obtaining the photographs needed, students will load the images onto a computer. After the images are loaded, students may begin creating a digital scrapbook for the fictional town of "Geotown" using a photo editing software piece such as iPhoto.

Closure:
Students will share their scrapbooks with the teacher and their classmates giving a virtual tour of "Geotown". Finished projects could be printed to use in a project portfolio.