Mathematics - 4th Grade

• I Spy Environments
  This activity is an opportunity for students to us their knowledge of environments in an activity that will also allow them to explore fine art paintings from the Springville Art Museum. In small groups, students will investigate a variety of paintings of places in Utah in different seasons and different environments using different mediums. They will then decide on physical characteristics of these using a graphic organizer.

• Properties of Parallelograms and Rectangles
  Dynamic geometry software provides an environment in which students can explore geometric relationships and make and test conjectures. In this example, properties of rectangles and parallelograms are examined. The emphasis is on identifying what distinguishes a rectangle from a more general parallelogram.
• Shapes at Work
  Students record shapes that they find around them, identifying those that can be used to solve practical problems and build larger structures. Students will explore the uses of various shapes and record their findings in a science journal.
• Tangram Puzzles
  This two-part tangram example demonstrates the potential for high-quality experiences provided by computer 'shape' environments for students as they learn concepts described in the Geometry Standard. Describing figures and visualizing what they look like when they are transformed are important aspects of geometry in the lower grades.
• What's In a Shape?
  The purpose of this lesson is to explore characteristics of shapes by making and using tangram sets; to discover how the tangram pieces are related to one another; and to determine how many different combinations of the triangles, squares, and parallelograms in tangram sets can make a given shape.