Foil Fun

Adapted from NZ Maths Unit - Foil Fun

Adaptions (in green text) for ESOL students by Christine Jones

YEAR	LEVEL	DURATION
3-6	2	1 weeks (This unit may take longer for students learning in their second language. Be prepared for extra days.)

Achievement Objectives Being Assessed	Learning Outcomes
Geometry Level 2 Make name and describe, using their own language and the language of geometry, everyday shapes and objects.	Students will be able to: Explore and describe faces, edges, and corners of 2D and 3D objects. Make, name and describe polygons and other plane shapes.
Language Learning Focus
Focus on building vocabulary and mathematical literacy. Specific Language Learning Outcomes Students will: learn key vocabulary and revise vocabulary learnt in Level 1 Shapes; learn to use mathematical language to describe 2D and 3D shapes; recycle this new language as often as possible. How to achieve the language learning outcomes Focus on key words, pre-teach the language needed to describe the shapes. Recycle the new vocabulary as often as possible Model the new language repeatedly Check that student s are confident with the vocabulary at each level before proceeding to the next.

Teacher Background Reading

• Ensuring Maths Units Meet the Needs of ESOL Students
• Factors Affecting the Achievement of ESOL Students in Mathematics

Overview of the unit

In this unit students will be having hands-on experiences with three-dimensional solid shapes. They will investigate the features of solid shapes and learn the names for them. They will be introduced to making nets for 3D shapes.

A description of the mathematics explored in the unit

This unit explores basic solid objects by allowing the children to play with them in a structured way. The end product of the exploration is the construction of nets. All of the activities here will strengthen the children's concepts of 3D objects and their attributes, as well as the relevant vocabulary. This knowledge will be an invaluable basis for work at Levels 3 and 4, where more subtle definitions of shape are used (Te Whanau Taparau - The Polygon Family)

Resources

• solid shapes (cubes, rectangular prisms, triangular prisms, and cylinders)
• paper
• card
• foil
• scissors
• cards with descriptions of shapes for matching, some cards with some description words missing, cards with names of parts of shapes such as corner, edge, face, bluetac (see Session 1).

Teaching Sequence

Session 1 Packages

In this activity we will be investigating the features of 3D shapes using packaging as examples. You will need to collect a variety of packages to carry out these activities. If you have time, the packages could be covered in old wrapping paper or wrapped in plain paper and addressed to pairs or groups of three students. Unwrapped packages would work as well Before beginning this unit it is important to revise the shape units from Level 1: Shape Makers Shape Explorers Students need to be confident with the vocabulary taught in Level 1 units which will now be used to help describe the new vocabulary of this unit. Suggested revision activities: Make matching word and definition cards for the words such as edge, corner, face, square, rectangle, triangle. Make large 3D packages with some labels with edge, corner etc written on them and some bluetac for children to attach the labels in the correct place on the package. Have description cards with missing words, This package has 6 ______ faces and _____ straight edges, etc to match the packages. Match written description cards with packages. Using the large packages, have children take one and write all that they can to describe it.

1. Put a variety of cardboard packages into a pillowcase (this could be a pretend mailbag.) Gather the students on the mat and tell them that you have a variety of parcels in your bag. Ask a student to select a parcel from the pillowcase. As a class, ask the students to describe the parcel to you. Record their responses focusing on key words that they give you. For example, the packet has 8 corners, it has a square face, and it has straight edges.

   Listen for the vocabulary you are aiming at. If students are not using the words, 'face', 'edge', 'corner', 'straight' and words such as 'square', 'rectangular',' triangular', more recycling is necessary. Note: Remember students learning in their second language may take longer to learn new maths vocabulary than native English speakers. They may have never heard the words before (native speakers probably have) and have to concentrate on unfamiliar sounds, as well as possibly being new to other language in the context. Plenty of recycling and patience is needed

2. Put the students into pairs and get one person from each pair to select a parcel from the pillowcase

3. In pairs, the students draw their parcel and describe the features using the appropriate language. These descriptions are recorded with the drawing and are shared with the class.

4. Record all the maths words used to describe the packages on a vocabulary chart.

5. If the packages were wrapped ask the children to guess what might be in their package. It is important that children realise this learning is related to real life. Wrapped packages could then be unwrapped.

Session 2 Solids

In this activity students will investigate the properties of 3D shapes further by considering the faces of the shapes. You will need solid 3D shapes for the students to explore i.e. cubes, rectangular prisms, triangular prisms, and cylinders.

1. Revise the use of the packaging descriptions from Session 1 by modeling an example using the words from your vocabulary chart.

2. Introduce solid shapes e.g. the cubes, rectangular prisms, triangular prisms etc. These shapes will need to be labelled with their names. Hand these out for students to handle and explore. Get students to describe their shapes to a partner, encouraging them to use the vocabulary on the chart.

   Listen for the target language. Prompt if necessary and maybe revise. Spend some time discussing the names of the shapes. What is a prism? Why is this one called a triangular prism? Write the names and point them out on the vocabulary chart each time they are used. Add any that are not there, maybe make a different chart for the names of shapes and use plenty of examples of these. For example a prism was probably not among the shapes of the packages. This shape will need to be explored with many examples given to establish what a prism is. Have some different prism shapes and some shapes not prisms. Spend time modeling the word and have children identify what a prism is and the kinds of prisms. Do the same with cylinders - and cubes if necessary. Note:. You may have to spend the rest of the lesson on this vocabulary and begin the next part next day. Do not hurry the students as this vocabulary is vital for further study. Listen and judge their confidence with the new language.

3. Give students a 3D solid shape and ask them to trace around the faces to investigate the shapes of the faces of their shape.

4. Ask students to write a description of the drawings using the maths vocabulary.

   This is another chance to check the confidence of students in using the vocabulary.

5. Students could then create their own designs e.g. Robots by drawing around the faces of the 3D solid shapes.

6. Provide a chart for the students with a picture of the 3D solid, names of the 3D solid, number of edges and faces.
   

   This will further reinforce the vocabulary. Students may need regular attention drawn to the chart before Session 3 with quick teacher led games such as covering the name of the shape and having students see if they remember it, or saying Is this shape a cylinder? Tell me how you know? Or similar recycling of the vocabulary.

Session 3: Solids' Faces

In this activity students will try to identify 3D solid shapes from drawings of the faces of these solids. This involves pairs of students playing a game. Students will work in pairs to draw the faces of 3D solid shapes. They will then try to identify the solid shapes by matching the drawn faces to the solids.

1. Hand out a collection of solid shapes to each pair, for example, a cube, a rectangular prism, a cylinder, etc.

   Take this chance to recycle the names of the shapes.

2. 
   

   Model tracing. Have group of students watch while one or two students trace the faces of a shape while you model the language. Remember to use the words 'along' for sides and 'around' for corners (as taught in Level 1).

   In pairs, students are to trace all of the faces of 1 solid shape onto a single sheet of paper.

3. Partners swap sheets with another pair. The other pair has to match the solids with the drawings of the faces. Pairs then check guesses.

   Check for accurate use of the language. Spend more time on this if necessary to give children confidence with the language.

Session 4: Netting

In this activity the students will be exploring making a net from solid shapes by drawing round 3D solid shapes as they roll a shape along a piece of paper

1. 
   

   Introduce the word 'net'. Talk about its other uses, some may be known, and explain this mathematical use. Demonstrate. Add the word to the vocabulary chart. Recycle this word as often as possible in the discussions that follow.

2. Working in pairs students select a solid shape to 'unwrap'.

   Model the next procedure and talk about it as you do it.

3. Students are to unwrap the solid by rolling the shape and tracing the faces as they roll. Remember to roll the shapes sideways as well. Students can then investigate how many different nets they can make with their shape by rolling the shape indifferent ways the result should resemble a net for the shape.

4. Students cut out the nets for the shape and fold them together to establish which design makes their solid shape. They may need support to fold the lines that they have made.

5. Conclude the session by giving the students a package from Session 1 to carefully unpack to form a net. Look at the similarities and differences between the packages and the drawn nets.

   Encourage use of mathematical language.

6. Display the packages that have been unpacked as nets.

   Talk about the 'solids' and the 'nets', recycling the new vocabulary.

Session 5: Foil covers

In this session students make a cover for their solid shape.

1. Begin this session by sharing the nets drawn from the 3D solid shapes. Discuss the similarities and differences between the net designs. Use the vocabulary chart to support the discussion. Encourage students to use these words.

2. 
   

   Show students sheets of foil, write the word on the board, talk about what it is and what it is used for. Show the children what they are going to do by doing it yourself making sure you talk about it as you go.

   Press the foil tightly around the shape. Put pressure onto the foil to ensure it tightly wraps around the shape.

3. Carefully cut along the edges of one of the faces of the shape. Cut only as many edges as you need to, to be able to remove the solid from the inside of its foil cover.

4. Reassemble the foil to make the original shape. Give students a piece of foil to wrap around their shape Students may want to make more than one solid shape.

5. Foil shapes could be stuffed with something to give then more structure.

6. Make a display of the foil solids. Make sure the names of the solids are clearly labelled

Session 6: A Collection of Solids

In this session students will find practical examples of 3D shapes by making a display that categorises 3D shapes. Link this activity to the homework activity.

1. Ask students to collect pictures of examples of 3D shapes from magazines.

2. Stick these onto individual charts that have been labelled for each solid.

   Make sure you talk about what you are doing. Have students talk about what they are doing so that the names of the shapes are recycled. Have them tell the group which one they stuck on, what the object is and what its shape is

3. Display this with the foil models.

Homelinks
At home this week we find or draw pictures of the 3D shapes that we have been exploring.

Figure It Out Links