/ MATHEMATICS UNIT PLANNER / VELS Level 4 / Term: 2 / Year: 5/6 2010
Dimension: / SPACE / Focus: / Symmetry and Tessellations

Length of Unit: 4 lessons (including 1 NAPLAN preparation focus)

VELS Learning Focus Statement:

VELS: working towards (and progression points) level 4 in Space (3.5, 4.0), structure (3.25) and working mathematically (3.25 & 3.5).

Vocabulary Development:

Tessellate, tessellation, reflect, flip, translate, slide, rotate, turn, symmetry, lines of symmetry

Establishing Prior Knowledge

Discuss what do you already know (visual representations), what do you want to know (questions)
List the mathematical tools and language used when talking about symmetry and tessellation

Common Assessment Tasks

Assessment FOR Learning / Assessment OF Learning / Assessment AS Learning
What do we know? What do we want to know more about? What do we need to know and understand (NAPLAN focus)? / Use of reflection journals, notes taken during small group discussions. / Completed worksheets, question from NAPLAN tasks
Conference with students and determine if they can:
- identify the lines of symmetry in 2D shapes
- make tessellations using regular and irregular shapes

Other Resources:

NELSON MATHS for VICTORIAN VELS Edition -Year 5 Teacher’s Resource Book – Jenny Feely and Pauline Rogers


Teaching and Learning Sequence

Sequence Focus /

Warm up

/
Student Learning Activity (including introduction)
/
Share / Reflection / Assessment
1
Symmetry / Define the term ‘symmetry’
Fold a kinder square so that the two halves are exactly the same size and shape – you have made a line of symmetry! / Introduction:
Brainstorm shapes, letters and other everyday objects that are symmetrical.
How many lines of symmetry does ‘x’ have?
Which letters of the alphabet are symmetrical (drawn as capital letters)?
Which ones have more than one line of symmetry?
Repeat with 2D shapes
Student Activity:
** Draw 2D shapes and show how they can be cut more than one way to give symmetrical halves (BLM1 if you would like a sheet to use)
** show which shapes and objects have line/s of symmetry. Group them according to how many lines they have
ICT – Maths Lab - Supplement with additional worksheets and previously used ideas (to be added to planner) / Reflection sentence starters
A line of symmetry is an imaginary line along which one half of the shape is reflected to make the other half.
Share posters/completed work samples
What do the things that have three lines of symmetry have in common?
How could you predict the number of lines of symmetry a regular shape will have?
2
Tessellations / What is a tessellation?
What shapes are often used in such a pattern? / Introduction:
Walk around the school, looking for examples (brick walls, paving, tiled floors) and take photos of tessellations found.
Where do you see tessellations?
View and discuss Escher pictures
A tessellation is a pattern of shapes covering a surface that fit together without any gaps or overlapping.
Student Activity:
** investigate, research and collect examples
** make own tessellating pattern
ICT – Supplement with additional worksheets and previously used ideas (to be added to planner) / Reflection sentence starters
Share own tessellation patterns and/or any completed worksheets
Discuss: Do regular shapes tessellate? Do shapes with an even number of sides tessellate?
3
Tessellations – pentominoes / Continue to find, share and discuss examples of tessellations – model true/false examples. / Introduction:
Why might people use tessellations?
Student Activity:
** Using 5 square tiles (or could use grid paper) – how many different shapes can you make with just 5 squares?
** design own tessellating floor pattern – colour and shapes used to be discussed
ICT – Maths Lab - Supplement with additional worksheets and previously used ideas (to be added to planner) / Reflection sentence starters
Will any of the shapes you have made tessellate – why/why not?
Share own tessellation patterns and/or any completed worksheets
Do all pentominoes tessellate?
Do all shapes that tessellate have lines of symmetry?
4
NAPLAN preparation / Introduction:
Scan – what do you notice in the question?
Read the question
Re-read the question. Underline the key words that will help you solve the Maths
Prior knowledge – what’s the Maths in the question?
Plan – how will you solve the problems
Solve – show evidence of your thinking
Check – workbook – check that your answer matches the question
Student activity:
Use previous NAPLAN Examples – and school assessed tasks from AIM / Reflection sentence starters

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