Students learn about the mathematical characteristics and reflective property of ellipses by building their own elliptical-shaped pool tables. After a slide presentation introduction to ellipses, student “engineering teams” follow the steps of the engineering design process to develop prototypes, which they research, plan, sketch, build, test, refine, and then demonstrate, compare and share with the class. Using these tables as models to explore the geometric shape of ellipses, they experience how particles rebound off the curved ellipse sides and what happens if particles travel through the foci. They learn that if a particle travels through one focal point, then it will travel through the second focal point regardless of what direction the particle travels.

Overall Goal: During this lesson we will cover basic shapes and learn how they can be used in everyday objects. Our goal is for students to know the basic shapes, find them in objects such as playgrounds, be able to create their own playground using shapes, and finally be able to tell the class about the playground they made and the shapes used.  Standard: K.G.3: Model shapes in the world by composing shapes from objects (e.g., sticks and clay balls) and drawing shapes. Learning Objectives: The students will be able to show they know what each of the basics shape are by correctly drawing a square, triangle, rectangle, circle, and oval.Students will be able to create playground with the basic shapes by using everyday objects such as play-doh, craft sticks, etc.Students will be able to complete the project by creating their dream playground; using all of the shapes covered in the lesson.Students can explain their playgrounds and shapes they used, and why their specific playground represents their “dream playground” by presenting their project to the class. Key Terms:SquareRectangleTriangleOvalCircle Lesson Introduction:We will visit the school playground to have the students find the different shapes in the playground equipment. We want students to use the playground visit to help them decide how they would build their dream playground using the basic shapes. We will give the students a packet (found in the Resources section) that includes a few activities for them to do before the main lesson. They will take this to the playground and fill out the second page by writing down the different playground structures that fit each shape. They will be able to explore the playground on their own, so that they can have different answers than each other. Main Lesson:In class, we will have the students create, by drawing, their ‘dream playground’ using the specific basic shapes they are given to work with (squares, triangles, circles, rectangles, and ovals). They will be given 20 minutes to complete their drawing. They will be able to draw this on paper or use a computer application to create this.After this, the students will be given play-doh and popsicle sticks to recreate the shapes and structures that they had on their paper. The crafting process should take around 50 minutes. The drawings and crafts will be assessed by if the students correctly demonstrate their knowledge of the different shapes and how to create them.At the end, the kids will present their own playgrounds to the class and show what shapes they used and be able to explain and defend why it is their dream playground. This is so that the teacher can tell if the student knows the shapes and is able to defend their argument of what makes it a dream playground. The students will be able to use pencil and paper to draw or use tablets/iPads and use a drawing application. Lesson Ending:When the students are done creating their projects, they will each present their playgrounds to the class and explain the individual shapes that they used. The students will also explain why they believe their playground model is the best. The students should answer the following questions when they defend why their playground is the best. How many of each shape are in your playground? Is one of the five shapes better for making playgrounds than the others and why? The way that we can assess is if the student created the shapes correctly and correctly referenced them in their presentation. Rubric:The students will be graded as Good, Average, or Poor. The following is what they are going to be graded on:Students know basic shapesStudents use shapes correctly to build a playgroundStudents complete all parts of the projectStudents present their playgrounds to the class and can explain how they built their playground with the basic shapes Differentiation:This project should not affect students of different gender, race, culture, or sexual identity. Students with behavioral challenges will be worked more one-on-one than the other students to make sure that any confusion or frustration will be handled. The higher ability learners can go beyond the four shapes specified, if they feel comfortable. The project does not require out of school time where they would absolutely need a computer or Wifi access.Examples:If high ability students feel like they can add shapes that are not on the required list, they may do so with permission from the teacher. They will not be given any extra credit for adding other shapes, but this is a good way for the teachers to see where some students are at academically.If there is a child with dyslexia they will receive extra help from the teacher to be sure that they can accurately read the instructions on the papers.If a student needs to use a computer drawing application for sketching the playground because of a disability but doesn’t understand how to use it, they may come into class early to spend some extra time navigating the site.Since the students will be doing a worksheet after the activity, there might be students who struggle with reading. If the students struggle with reading the worksheet, they may ask, and we will help them through the parts that they find confusing. If the student has translation issues with some of the words, we will also help them translate it. This will be done just through being familiar with the material and specific language. Anticipated Difficulties:There could be difficulty with children being distracted at the playground and while crafting. We will need to be sure that everyone is staying on task by keeping them engaged during all of the activities. Children can sometimes become distracted if they are just listening to someone speak and by keeping them engaged and involving them during all of the lesson they will be more likely to stay focused. When on the playground we can use students to help point out the shapes that we find and also ask questions during this time to keep students attentive. Students might be at different learning levels and could struggle with learning the shapes. If so, we could always split the children into a few groups based on learning levels to help the lesson run smoother.