1st Edition

Spatial Reasoning A Mathematics Unit for High-Ability Learners in Grades 2-4

By Dana T. Johnson Copyright 2008
    126 Pages
    by Prufrock Press

    Spark the visual learning of students in grades 2-4 with Spatial Reasoning, a mathematics unit for high-ability learners. Gifted students demonstrate an advanced aptitude for spatial reasoning at early ages, and they require more complex lessons than what the standard curriculum provides. This field-tested unit approaches spatial reasoning through one-dimensional (1-D), two-dimensional (2-D), and three-dimensional (3-D) tasks that will engage students.

    The lessons in this unit are differentiated for gifted learners, and they are supported by hands-on extension activities that extend spatial concepts beyond the classroom. The skills learned throughout this unit will lay the foundation of spatial reasoning that will prepare students for middle school and beyond.

    Spatial Reasoning was developed by the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary.

    Grades 2-4

    Part I: Introduction Introduction to the Unit Unit Materials Assessment Unit Glossary Part II: Lesson Plans Lesson Plans Lesson 1: Preassessment Lesson 2: Introduction to Dimensions Lesson 3: Slides, Flips, Turns, and Glides Lesson 4: Reflections and Symmetry Lesson 5: Polygons and Tangrams Lesson 6: Polyominoes Lesson 7: Nets, Drawings, and Mat Plans Lesson 8: Projections and Slices Lesson 9: Postassessment Part III: Unit Extensions and Resources Unit Extensions Unit Resources Common Core State Standards Alignment

    Biography

    Dana T. Johnson is an instructor in the Mathematics Department and the School of Education at The College of William and Mary, where she also has worked on many projects with the college's Center for Gifted Education since its inception in 1988. She was a curriculum reviewer for the center's Javits science curriculum project and was the project manager of the center's Javits language arts curriculum.

    She is an editor of Developing Verbal Talent along with Joyce VanTassel-Baska and Linda Neal Boyce, and also is the author of two College of William and Mary curriculum units for high-ability learners for Prufrock Press.

    Math skills are invaluable for young children, and even complex concepts can be taught to children if done in the right way. Spatial Reasoning: A Mathematics Unit for High-Ability Learners in Grades 2-4 is a guide for educators to help their students understand the concepts of spatial reasoning in the fields of one, two, and three dimensional tasks. With advice on teaching gifted learners, Spatial Reasoning: A Mathematics Unit for High-Ability Learners in Grades 2-4 is highly recommended for community library mathematics collections.,James A Cox,Midwest Book Review, 7/22/08