ICT Vignette 4 Using Word in KS3 Maths NC Subject, Topic
KS3 Mathematics Ma3 - Classifying 2-D shapes
Context
This session takes place in a secondary comprehensive school in West London with 1,300 students on roll. About 18 % of students come from diverse ethnic minorities. Among the fifty different home languages, Somali is the most common with Urdu coming second. However, most stage 1 learners come from Europe, Afghanistan and Somalia.
Due to a relatively high number of EAL beginners in this school, a complete withdrawal programme is set up. Beginners attend two and half days per week in the EAL teaching room where English, Maths, Geography and ICT are taught with heavy emphasis on developing English. The subject content is linked with topics in the National Curriculum.
This particular Beginners’ group has 10 EAL students, ranging from Year 7 to 9. They come from Poland, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Pakistan, Portugal and Africa. Most of them have been in the U.K. for less than six months and have been in this school for just two
months. Only half of them have previous educational experience, the rest have never been to school, being either taught at home or taught privately by tutors. Their N.C. levels are ranging from Level 1 (threshold), Level 1 (secure) and Level 2. (QCA 2000)
In this lesson the teacher uses word processing to create worksheets. The students construct 2-D shapes and write up investigation results using Draw tools in MS Office Word as part of Mathematics Ma3 - Classifying 2-D shapes
The targets of the lesson
After the lesson, students should be able to: • identify and name various 2-D shapes
• describe 2-D shapes by looking at their properties • construct 2-D shapes and write about their properties
• Use agreement correctly in writing up the conclusion, e.g. There is/are ___ edges in a square.
• Use present tense to describe general rules.
• Some pupils will use relative pronoun “which” to link up subject and sub-ordinate clauses, e.g. A triangle is a flat shape which has three sides and three angles.
The lesson
Step 1: Familiarisation
Maths word book in Somali and bilingual dictionaries in Spanish, Portuguese and Urdu are available for students to use. Students match words and shapes using a worksheet .
Worksheet 1 - Matching 2-D shapes
Match the shapes with the words.
hexagon triangle square pentagon parallelogram trapezium rhombus
The teacher checks the answers with students and writes all the shapes and names on board, drawing students’ attention on the pronunciation and spelling of words.
Step 2: Identification
The teacher asks, “How can you decide what shape it is?” and elicits or introduces key words: 2-dimensional, flat faces, edges, sides, curved sides, corners, angles and angles. The teacher explains the semantic meaning of each shape by describing the properties of each shape.
Worksheet 2 – Shapes and their properties
Look at the properties and decide what shape it is.
circle parallelogram pentagon rhombus square trapezium hexagon triangle
properties shapes
It has three sides and three angles. It is a round shape.
It is a parallelogram with oblique angles and equal sides. It has four equal sides and four right angles.
It has four sides with only one pair of sides parallel. It has four sides with opposite sides parallel
It has five sides and five angles. It has six sides and six angles
Students work in pairs on Worksheet 2 and report orally to describe the properties of each shape.
Step 3: Teacher Modelling
The teacher uses a writing frame to help students write up the conclusions on the board, emphasising the use of present tense and correct agreement between subject and verb. For example:
Step 4: Guided writing
Students are asked to write similar conclusions for other shapes in their books.
Step 5: Independent Writing
The teacher demonstrates how to construct shapes & write up the conclusion using MS Office “Word”
Worksheet 3 – A report on 2-D shapes Investigations
1. How to use DRAW functions in MS Office WORD: • Open a new file in Word
• Type in your name, form & date
• Put down the title on top and underline it :Investigations on 2-D shapes
• As shown below, from the bottom tool box, click on Autoshapes
Click here for Autoshapes. Select Basic shapes .
For example:
Extended task:
Write up a conclusion and compare the properties of different shapes. Use the following writing frame if needed.
Example: From my investigation, I have found out that 2-D shapes
__________________________________. A ________ is a shape which has _______ sides and ________ angles but a ________ is a shape with _________ sides and
_________ right angles.
Select a shape. Place the cursor where the shape is required, hold down the left mouse and drag. Adjust the size.
Click on text box. Place the cursor next to the shape chosen. Hold down the left mouse and drag. Write your findings next to the shape.
A triangle is a 2-D shape which has three sides and three angles.
More fluent pupils write up a conclusion after the investigation based on writing frame included in the worksheet above.
Strategies for teaching and learning EAL and how ICT supported these.
• Comprehensible input Raise awareness of the Mathematical concepts associated with 2-D shapes through use of Draw function
• Form and function: Familiarise students with Mathematical terms and format in writing up an investigation. Consolidate spelling and meaning of words on 2-D shapes. Practise using subject and verb in agreement correctly. For more fluent pupils, the use of relative pronoun in building a more complex sentence.
• Independent learning: To encourage independent learning by exploring the properties of shapes using the Draw tools.
