Construct your young mathematicians' understanding by exploring the properties and dimensions of a parallelogram through constructions. The seventh instructional activity in this 29-part series begins with individuals creating...

Four is the perfect number—if you're talking about parallelograms. Scholars determine a possible fourth vertex of a parallelogram in the coordinate plane given the coordinates of three vertices. They read a conversation...

This collaborative activity investigates the meaning of a trapezoid and a parallelogram. It begins by presenting two different definitions of a trapezoid. Learners are to reason abstractly the difference between the two definitions and...

Sharpen your pencil and grab a ruler, it's time to draw some quadrilaterals! Given the definition of a parallelogram, rectangle, and rhombus, learners draw examples and nonexamples of each figure. The three definitions are...

Scholars determine distances on the coordinate plane to find areas. The instructional activity begins with a proof of the formula for the area of a parallelogram using the coordinate plane. Pupils use the coordinate plane to determine...

If both pairs of opposite sides of a quadrilateral are congruent, is the quadrilateral a parallelogram? This task asks learners to determine the answer and to support their answer with a proof. The resource includes a commentary for...

Learners create a pattern out of pattern blocks. In this math lesson, students work with a partner to investigate the pattern they have. Within that group, learners continue to design the pattern by adding the next two pieces....

Flip, turn, and slide about the coordinate plane. Pupils define the rigid motions and experiment with them before determining the relationships of the slopes of parallel and perpendicular lines. The sixth unit in a nine-part series...

Explore how lines of symmetry help define different categories of quadrilaterals. Looking at a square, rectangle, trapezoid, and parallelogram, young mathematicians discover that each shape has its own, unique symmetry. Encourage your...

This task asks learners to prove that the segment joining the midpoints of two sides of a parallelogram is both congruent and parallel to an adjacent side of the parallelogram. The activity would be good to use in a discussion about how...

What type of quadrilateral is that? Discover the difference between the types of quadrilaterals. Small groups investigate types of quadrilaterals using geometry software to find their properties. To keep track of the different...

Extend young mathematicians' understanding of area with a geometry lesson on trapezoids. Building on their prior knowledge of rectangles and triangles, students learn how to calculate the area of trapezoids and other...

Extend scholars' learning experience with a unit consisting of five shape lesson plans, an extension activity, assessment, and rubric. Begin by reading a story about shapes, then conduct an overview and assign pupils' their first...

Challenge your class to construct a definition for trapezoids. Looking at four examples and four non-examples, students individually create definitions and use them to classify an unknown shape. Allow for small group and whole-class...

Young geometers investigate and apply properties of quadrilaterals.  After a review and discussion of key terms, students use a computer applet to explore four-sided figures and classify them according to their attributes. The...

Students comprehend how Landsat satellites orbit teh Earth to produce images. They comprehend the elliptical path of satellites. Students recognize that a different orbital path is needed for different satellites to perform their tasks....

Your learners connect the new concepts of transformations in the coordinate plane to their previous knowledge using the solid vocabulary development in this unit. Like a foreign language, mathematics has its own set of vocabulary terms...