Academic and Creative Excellence Program

Fifth Grade

2009-2010

We will be conducting activities designed to improve student spatial awareness.   Geometry and spatial sense are fundamental components of mathematics learning.   They offer ways to interpret and reflect on our physical environment and can serve as tools for the study of other topics in mathematics and science. Some students may have difficulty finding the surface area of three-dimensional shapes using two-dimen­sional representations because they cannot visualize the unseen faces of the shapes.

Experience with models of three-dimensional shapes and their two-dimensional "nets" is useful in such visualization. Students also need to examine, build, compose, and decompose complex two- and three-dimensional objects, which they can do with a variety of media, including paper-and-pencil sketches, geometric models, and dynamic geometry software. Interpreting or drawing different views of objects, such as the top, front and back views, using dot paper can be useful in developing visualization. Students should build three-dimensional objects from two-dimensional representations; draw ob­jects from a geometric description; and write a description, including its geometric properties, for a given object. Students can also benefit from experience with other visual models, such as networks, to use in analyzing and solving real problems.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to visit our class anytime.   There is no need to “make reservations.”   Just check in with the front office and tell them you want to visit Mr. Easton in the ACE class.   If you have any questions, please email me at REaston@nkcps.k12.va.us or call.