A geometric field trip

Students conduct a field trip around the school (inside and out) looking for examples of geometric shapes. They record their findings using a digital camera and present their findings in a multimedia presentation.

A lesson plan for grade 3 Computer/Technology Skills, Information Skills, and Mathematics

By Mary Rizzo

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Learning outcomes

Students will demonstrate their understanding of different geometric shapes by finding examples in their school environment. They will use multimedia to share their discoveries.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

2-3 hours

Materials/resources

paper and pencil for note taking

Technology resources

• digital cameras
• computers
• multimedia software (Kid Pix, PowerPoint, etc.)
• a way to present the projects - i.e. display to a TV or through a data projector
• scanner (optional)

Pre-activities

1. Students are introduced to solid geometric shapes (cubes, rectangular prisms, spheres, cylinders, cones, and pyramids) as a part of their math curriculum.
2. If not already familiar with the digital camera, students should be introduced to its proper care and handling and how to take quality pictures. For example, the source of the sun should be to your back (not in the front of the camera). Get as close to your object as is possible. If zooming is an option on your camera, students should learn how to use it.
3. The teacher should decide how to divide the students and which task to give them. Two possible options are to:
   • assign only one geometric shape to each group
   • let each group find all the shapes they can
4. If at all possible, each group should have their own camera to use. Since there will be several groups possibly going in different directions, it may be helpful to have volunteers monitor some of the groups.
   If several cameras are not available, groups may need to hunt for their shapes at different times.
5. Rules and conduct during the ‘field trip’ should be established. For
   example: Students should take turns taking pictures. They should be quiet in the halls so as not to disturb other classes. They should respect school property inside and outside the building.
6. You may want to organize parent volunteers to go with the students.
7. The teacher should already know how to import a picture into the slide in the multimedia program.

Activities

1. Student teams go on their field trip around the school and grounds looking for representation of solid geometric shapes (Ex: There are often spheres at the end of a flag pole. A globe is a sphere. Trash cans might be examples of cylinders. Look at tissue and pencil boxes, blocks, legs on tables, etc.)
2. As they find an object they take a picture of it. Another student should take notes and jot down what object they found and where they found it. Every student in the group should have the opportunity to take at least one picture and to take at least one set of notes.
3. The multimedia project should be a group effort that requires planning and cooperation (the teacher will decide whether the students will work on the multimedia project in the classroom or in the Computer Lab). Slide one should be a title slide. If the group only took pictures of one type of shape, the title slide would include that shape name. Suggest that the students be creative! The names of the team members should also be on the title slide. Students could also draw examples of their shape(s) using the drawing tools.
4. Each slide from then on will have a picture taken on the ‘field trip.’ Students will be shown how to import the picture if they are not familiar with how to do so. Then, they add text explaining what the shape is and where they found it. They will get this information from their team notes. You may choose to have the students record their voices as they read their text. Remind the students to ‘Save early, and save often.’
5. Once complete, the presentations should be shared with the class, other classes, or maybe even invite the parents to share their slideshows. This is when you will need to be able to project the slideshows either on a TV or with a data projector.

Note: If any of the groups had trouble finding pictures of shapes around the school, you could consider having the students find pictures in magazines and scanning them. The scanned pictures could then be imported into the slideshow.

Assessment

Assessment is based on the collection of appropriate examples of solid geometric shapes by each group. This lessons reinforces the skills you have previously taught. You may choose to create a rubric for the multimedia presentation so that students know what is expected of them before they begin. Cooperation among the team members could be one segment of the rubric.

Supplemental information

Comments

The original idea for this lesson plan came from a second grade teacher I have had the privilege of working with. She had her students hunt for geometric shapes and make a list of them. The students loved the activity so much they added to the list for several days as they continued to find more geometry in the world around them. It was as if the lesson had opened up a whole new world to them. Using her original idea, I have expanded it to include the use of technology by using the digital camera and multimedia.