Polygons - Explore the Possibilities

Now, students make a list of observations about the polygons they have created.  The goal is to have them use specific mathematical language that will help them develop their understanding of polygons in general and the properties of certain shapes in particular. (MP6) To this end, their comments must be both clear and meaningful.

Examples of student comments:

Below Level:

• My shape has sides.
• Some of my sides are longer than others.
• All my shapes that I drew have 4 sides.

On Level:

• My quadrilateral has 4 angles and 4 sides.
• One angle in my quadrilateral is 114 degrees.

Above Level:

• I see that two of the angles in my quadrilateral are more than 100 degrees and two of them are less than 100 degrees.
• When I add all 4 of the angles in my quadrilateral together I get 360 degrees.

I call students together as a group and ask one or more of the following questions:

1. What is something new you learned today?

2. What is something you can explain now that you couldn't explain before?

3. Describe an interesting polygon that was presented to you by a classmate.

Remember, always insist on full sentence responses. Don't hesitate to throw in the prompt, "I know this because...". If students struggle to find the words, give them time to think before rushing to fill the silence. Allow the use of models (manipulatives, drawings) as an aid to explanations - it bootstraps the words. These practices are critical for developing thinking and language, not only oral but written as well.