Building with the Mind's Eye
Age group
- Primary (Age 6 to 9)
Curriculum Goal
Primary: Geometry and Spatial Sense
- Compose and decompose two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional figures.
- Describe the relative locations of objects using positional language.
Related Links
Context
- This is a teacher-led activity that can be conducted with a whole class or small groups.
- Students and the teacher sit on the floor in a circle.
Materials
- Coloured multilink cubes
- Building with the Mind’s Eye Slide Deck (Appendix A)
Lesson
- Before the lesson, construct simple 3D figures using different coloured cubes and note how to build the figure step-by-step. Alternatively, use the images and script provided in the slideshow (Appendix A).
- Ask students to close their eyes.
- Describe how to build each figure step-by-step. A script is provided in the presenter notes of the slide deck.
- Ask students to visualize what the figure looks like in their mind.
- Present multiple unique figures made from coloured multilink cubes, only one of which is the actual figure that was described.
- Have students identify which figure they pictured and explain why the other figures do not match the given description.
Look Fors
- Can children follow the instructions and select the correct figure described?
- Can children explain why the other figures are not correct?
- Do children use positional language to describe the relative location of each cube?
Extension
- Upside Down World for next lesson.