The Prism Predicament

Teach Starter Publishing
60 mins | Suitable for years: 2 - 3

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Curriculum

  • VC2M2SP01

    Recognise, compare and classify shapes, referencing the number of sides and using spatial terms such as ‘opposite’, ‘parallel’, ‘curved’ and ‘straight’ <ul> <li>sorting a collection of shapes in different ways based on their features, such as number of sides, whether all sides are equal and whether pairs of opposite sides are parallel; for example, sorting collections of triangles and other polygons</li> <li>manipulating shapes and recognising that different orientations do not change the shape; for example, cutting out pictures of various shapes and recognising that they are still classified as the same shape even if they are upside down or on their side</li> <li>investigating the shapes of different sporting fields, describing and labelling their features, including sidelines, centre circles and goal squares; for example, labelling the lines on a basketball court and using spatial terms to describe them</li> <li>creating regular shapes using digital tools, describing and observing what happens when you manipulate them; for example, dragging or pushing vertices to produce irregular shapes, or moving or rotating a shape</li> </ul>

  • VC2M3SP01

    Make, compare and classify objects, identifying key features and explaining why these features make them suited to their uses <ul> <li>classifying a collection of geometric objects, including cylinders, spheres, prisms and pyramids, according to key features such as the shape and number of faces and/or surfaces, edges and vertices</li> <li>making and comparing objects built out of cubic blocks and discussing key features; for example, comparing the amount of space that objects occupy by counting how many blocks it takes to build different rectangular prisms that have the same height but different bases</li> <li>making geometric objects in solid form out of connecting cubes and in skeleton form with straws, and constructing objects using dynamic geometry software, recognising, comparing and discussing the features of the objects using the different representations</li> <li>using familiar shapes and objects to build or construct models and compare the suitability of different shapes and objects for aspects of the model; for example, building rectangular towers out of connecting cubes and recognising that the taller the tower, the less stable it becomes unless the base is increased; or building bridges out of straws bent into different shapes and comparing the strength of different designs</li> <li>identifying, classifying and comparing common objects found on Country/Place as cubes, rectangular prisms, cylinders, cones and spheres</li> <li>investigating and explaining how Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ dwellings are oriented in the environment to accommodate climatic conditions</li> </ul>

  • VC2M3SP02

    Interpret and create two-dimensional representations of familiar environments, locating key landmarks and objects relative to each other <ul> <li>designing the layout of a space; for example, designing a proposed games room or a classroom using a blank sheet of paper as the boundary and cutouts of shapes to represent furniture from a top-view perspective</li> <li>locating themselves within a space, such as a basketball court, oval, stage or assembly hall, guided by a simple hand-held plan indicating the different positions of the participants in the activity</li> <li>sketching a map indicating where they have hidden an object within the classroom, swapping maps with partners and then providing feedback about what was helpful and what was confusing on the map</li> <li>identifying differences in the representation of a place on a map, in an aerial photograph, in a street view and in a satellite image, and discussing the different information the representations can give</li> <li>exploring land maps or cultural maps used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to locate, identify and position important landmarks such as waterholes</li> </ul>

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