Dear
Parent:
For
the next two weeks, your child will be learning about 2-D shapes. The goals
will be for your child to use shapes to make other shapes, to identify shapes
that are congruent (the same size and shape), and to recognize symmetry in
shapes. These skills will help your child to understand that many shapes are
related to one another and that shapes can be sorted and given the same name,
such as a set of parallelograms or a set of triangles. Your child should begin
to notice interesting geometric designs in his or her world. You might talk to
your child about how these designs have been created. At the end of the
chapter, your child will be using knowledge of shapes to create geometric
designs. Throughout the two weeks, you and your child may engage in activities
such as:
•
Your child can look for shape puzzles at home. Look in resources such as newspapers
and puzzle books. Your child could bring a puzzle to school to display on a
class bulletin board or puzzle table.
•
Your child can find and list things around the house that have more than one
line of symmetry, and sketch at least 4 of these items and show the lines of
symmetry.
•
Your child could plan a symmetrical design for one wall of a bedroom or some other
room in the house. This might include the placement of pictures or posters on
the wall. Your child can draw a sketch of the symmetrical design, draw the line
of symmetry, and describe how the design was created.
•
Your child can find something at home, such as a rug, a vase, or a bedspread,
that has an interesting geometric pattern. Have your child draw the pattern and
describe attributes such as congruent shapes, lines of symmetry, and colour.
Your child should then describe how the pattern was made. This is called the
pattern rule. Your child might take the real object or a drawing of the object
to class to share with others.
You
may want to visit www.mathk8.nelson.com
for more suggestions to help your child learn mathematics and for books that relate
children’s literature to 2-D geometry. Also check the Web site for links to
other sites that provide online tutorials, math problems, and brainteasers.
If
your child is using a Mathematics 3
Workbook, pages 57–63 belong to Chapter 7. There is a page of practice
questions for each of the 6 lessons in the chapter and a Test Yourself page at
the end. If your child requires assistance, you can refer to the At-Home Help
box on each Workbook page.
JAK,
Tr. Hajer
