Learning About Symmetry

The Grade 4 students have been working to identify and create symmetrical shapes. These concepts and skills increase your childs awareness of symmetry in the world around us

The students began their work with symmetry with Mrs. Ollenberger . They worked first to identify 2-D shapes and draw lines of symmetry within these shapes. We built on this knowledge with working with specific shapes such as triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and octagons. Through the creation of a small group project, the children were able to use these shapes to create symmetrical patterns and demonstrate their learning in these areas.

I was excited to see the students using their learning to collaborate on a large project using tangrams. One group decided to combine their tangrams to create a symmetrical pattern on the floor. I could hear conversations discussing how each piece needed to match the piece on the opposite side of the meter stick. The children were able to identify a reflection of their pattern through the use of a ruler or meter stick to aid them in their discovery. I was so impressed by the context of the conversations that took place at each grouping.

When students are asked to reflect on what they have learned during this activity and through this documentation piece, they not only consolidate their learning in that particular concept, but also build metacognitive skills and extend their thinking and the thinking of their peers. When the children articulate what they are thinking by using math language, they develop their mathematical communication abilities and can comment on other students thinking.

We have worked to extend this thinking to include the building of mandalas. The word "mandala" is from the classical Indian language of Sanskrit. Loosely translated to mean "circle," a mandala is far more than a simple shape. It represents wholeness, and can be seen as a model for the organizational structure of life itself--a cosmic diagram that reminds us of our relation to the infinite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds. Describing both material and non-material realities, the mandala appears in all aspects of life: the celestial circles we call earth, sun, and moon, as well as conceptual circles of friends, family, and community.

To create our mandalas, we used flowers to represent the beauty of nature and articulate our mathematical understanding.