Classroom Activities
Shapes and Angles - Focus on Mondrian and Kandinsky
Lesson 1 of 3
Time: 1 45-minute class period
Objective: Students will be able to recognize and identify quadrilaterals in order to prepare for working with these shapes on the coordinate plane.
Instructional Strategies: Close observation, think-pair-share, collaborative learning, exit ticket
Materials:
Paper, pencils, rulers, protractors, projector for art images, post-it notes or small papers for exit ticket
New Vocabulary:
Polygon, right angle, quadrilateral
Lesson Introduction:
Project image of Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie (can be viewed at MOMA.org) for students on the board, have them look for 1 minute. Just look. No writing. Then have them look for 3 minutes while writing as many details about the art that they can.
Small Group Work:
Have students share their observations in pairs, and then share them with the class. The teacher should guide the discussion as needed, and correct misconceptions immediately.
In small groups, students will be given the task to define the terms: square, rectangle, quadrilateral, polygon, rhombus. Definitions will be reviewed as a class, with students sharing and creating a working definition for each term.
Independent practice:
Using images of quadrilaterals, students will classify shapes as squares or not, and explain why.
Exit Ticket:
Is a square a rectangle? Why or why not?
Shapes and Angles - Focus on Mondrian and Kandinsky
Lesson 2 of 3
Time: 1 45-minute class period
Objective: Students will be able to identify polygons in the context of art in order to prepare for polygons on the coordinate plane.
Instructional Strategies: Art activities, deliberate practice, exit ticket
Materials: Reproductions of Kandinsky paintings, plastic sleeves, permanent markers in various colors, paper/notebooks, pencils, rulers, protractors
Lesson Introduction:
Review exit ticket responses as needed to correct misconceptions.
Then have students write down as many 2D shapes as they can within 1 minute, and have students define as many shape names as they can in 3 minutes.
Discuss, review, and correct misconceptions.
Group Work:
Hand out plastic-sleeved reproductions of any of Kandinsky’s work in the public domain, which is most of them, ask students to use a permanent maker to trace as many shapes as they can find, and have them write down the names of those shapes on a sheet of paper.
Give students rulers and protractors to allow them to measure for accuracy of naming the shapes precisely. Review use of rulers and protractors with students before they begin to use them.
-This can be done in pairs if needed for modification.
Exit Ticket:
Name a shape that has more than 4 sides and list 2 or more real-life objects in that shape.
Shapes and Angles - Focus on Mondrian and Kandinsky
Lesson 3 of 3
Shapes on a Plane!
Time: 1 45-minute class period
Objective:Students will be able to draw accurate squares and rectangles on graph paper or coordinate plane in order to prepare for drawing of more advanced shapes on the coordinate plane.
Instructional Strategies: Gamification, act activities, collaborative learning, exit ticket
Materials:
Graph paper, multi-sided dice, pencils, colored pencils
New Vocabulary:
Coordinate plane
Lesson Introduction:
Use a simple Mondrian composition with large squares, and super-impose graph paper or a coordinate plane over the image. Allow the students to make observations.
Direct Instruction:
Demo the activity - roll a 10-sided die twice, one to determine how many squares to draw and the other to determine how many non-square rectangles to draw on the coordinate plane (compound shapes not included.) Students should use one color to show squares and one to show non-squares.
Group Work:
Activity modification options:
-This can be done in pairs if needed, more than pairs is not recommended.
-Small group of 4 or fewer can work with the teacher or other support person if that level of support is needed
-Use a 12 or 20-sided die for more advanced students. Use an 8 or 6-sided die for students who need more time to complete activities.
-Students who need more enrichment can begin to draw more complicated quadrilaterals on the graph paper/coordinate plan, or can do the standard assignment and then work with students who need some more support.
Exit Ticket:
What other quadrilaterals/polygons do you know about? Write as much as you can about them in 2 minutes.
Symmetry - Focus on O’Keeffe and Morris
Lesson 1 of 2
Time: 1 45-minute class period
Objectives: Students will be able to differentiate between radial and bilateral symmetry in order to be able to analyze coordinate plane transformations.
Instructional Strategies: Collaborative learning, think-pair-share, close observation, deliberate practice, exit ticket
Materials: Collection of 4 art items for “Which doesn’t belong,” nature images with symmetry, artworks with varying amounts of symmetry (or none at all) pencils, rulers
New Vocabulary: bilateral, radial
Lesson Introduction: Have students look at the “Which doesn’t belong” items. The items should be such that each could not belong with the others for at least one reason. Discuss in pairs, then as a whole group.
Direct Instruction: Introduce both forms of symmetry by using images from nature, have students decide what kind of symmetry they have as a whole group discussion. Correct misconceptions.
Group Work: Have students identify a series of artworks, in pairs, to determine whether or not they are symmetrical and what kind of symmetry they have.
Exit Ticket: List three or more objects in this room that have symmetry.
Symmetry - Focus on O’Keeffe and Morris
Lesson 2 of 2
Time: 1 45-minute class period
Objectives: Students will be able to determine lines of symmetry in order to prepare for coordinate plane translations.
Instructional Strategies: Close observation, collaborative learning, exit ticket
Materials: Georgia O’Keeffe artworks of cow skulls, landscapes, and flowers (use your discretion)
Lesson Introduction: Close observation of Georgia O’Keeffe paintings of your choosing, 30 seconds without talking or writing, then 2 minutes with only looking and writing. Do this at least twice, with different subject matter art. Discuss the symmetry within.
Group Work: Challenge students, in small groups, to describe why symmetry is important to us as humans. No using phones or computers, just their own brains and group conversation.
Exit Ticket: How many lines of symmetry does a circle have? Explain. How many lines of symmetry does a square have? Explain. How many lines of symmetry does a right triangle have? Explain.
Patterns - Focus on Kusama
Lesson 1 of 2
Time: 1 45-minute class period
Objectives: Students will be able to identify patterns in the real world, in order to recognize and analyze patterns in geometric word problems and other problem solving applications.
Instructional Strategies: Close observation, collaborative learning, differentiation, exit ticket
Materials: Images of cultural tattoos (henna, Maori designs, etc.)
New Vocabulary: pattern, repetition
Lesson Introduction: Close observation of cultural tattoos featuring patterns. Use images of henna, Maori tattoos, or anything else that might be relevant for your students. Discuss student observations.
Direct Instruction: Group brainstorm to define pattern, have students give examples.
Group Work: In small groups, have students discuss patterns in the real world outside the classroom. Students who need more of a challenge can discuss why humans like to look for patterns.
Exit Ticket: Why are patterns important in our lives and in our world?
Patterns - Focus on Kusama
Lesson 2 of 2
Objectives: Students will be able to define and identify similarity in shapes in order to determine similarity in polygons and polyhedra.
Instructional Strategies: Close observation, formative assessment, deliberate practice, exit ticket
Materials: Compass, pencils, graph paper
New Vocabulary: similar, compass
Lesson Introduction: Observe any of Yayoi Kusama’s art installations, these are available as images and videos on the internet. Have students write down notices and wonders about the installation.
Direct Instruction: Teach students how to use a compass to draw circles, release students to independent practice as they show mastery.
Independent practice: Have students draw 3 similar circles with the compass, three similar squares, and 3 similar triangles. Have students use graph paper for all of these.
Exit ticket: Which was the easiest shape for you to create similar shapes for? Why?
Tessellations - Focus on Escher
Lesson 1 of 3
Objectives: Students will be able to determine the number of interior degrees in a polygon in order to analyze possibilities for tessellation.
Instructional Strategies: Close observation, think-pair-share, collaborative learning, deliberate practice, exit ticket
Materials: shape images, rulers, protractors
New Vocabulary: regular shape, interior angle, tessellation
Lesson Introduction: Close observation of M.C. Escher’s Lizard. Discuss and give a short overview of Escher’s work.
Pair Work: How do we know how many interior degrees a shape should have? Allow students to explore in pairs, using shape images and protractors. After 7 or so minutes, review with the whole class and show them how to figure out the formula if they haven’t figured it out on their own.
Group Work: Using this formula, as well as rulers and protractors, have students determine whether a given shape is regular or not.
Exit Ticket: In your own words, what is a tessellation?
Tessellations - Focus on Escher
Lesson 2 of 3
Objectives: Students will be able to identify tessellations in Islamic tile design, in order to become familiar with real life applications of tessellations.
Instructional Strategies: Close observation, think-pair-share, art activities
Materials: Islamic Art and Geometric Design guide from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Lesson Introduction: Close observation of Islamic tile installations (can be from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or whytile.com, or anywhere you find something you want to use for this purpose.) Have students observe, then take notes. Think-pair-share.
Group Work: Choose an activity (or allow students to choose an activity) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art guide.
Exit Ticket: What about the art you just made relates to geometry? Be as specific as you can.
Tessellations - Focus on Escher
Will It Tessellate?
Lesson 3 of 3
Objectives: Students will be able to determine which shapes will and will not tessellate, in order to be able to create their own art showing tessellation.
Instructional Strategies: Close observation, art activity, deliberate practice, summative review, exit ticket
Materials: Glass/ceramic mosaic tiles, rulers, protractors
New Vocabulary: irregular shape, exterior angle
Lesson Introduction: Have students spend a few moments looking at the tiles with no other instructions. Record observations in a central visible location.
Direct Instruction/Independent work: Have students try to analyze whether or not the shape they’ve been given will tessellate cleanly, and figure out why or why not.
Group Work: Once students have made their own ideas about if their shapes will tessellate, in small groups have students construct a tessellation with their tiles. Groups must take a photo of their tile composition AND each student must take a photo of their “will it tessellate?” notes to submit as well.
Closure: What questions do you still have about tessellations, patterns, or symmetry?
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