Geometry Galore!

My first math unit in Every Day Math is Geometry.  I was pretty relieved because I taught it in late spring with my third graders and it is a unit that they love.  There are only a few new vocabulary words introduced at this level .  I read  a few of my favorite geometry books and planned activities to reinforce our standards:

We used compasses for the first time.  It went better than i thought.  No one tried to poke anyone and there were no accidents.  We practiced drawing concentric circles.   It also reinforced our multiplication facts.

Another activity that we did was break into several groups and use our bodies with elastic to create polygons and to demonstrate geometric terms.  I read the lesson on-line and it said to use Chinese jump-ropes that I could not find anywhere.  (you know you are old when the kids don't know what they are)  I ended up buying 3 packages of sewing elastic (3/8") and tying each one into a big circle.  Here are the kids demonstrating intersecting lines.

Another activity that I plan on doing next week is using toothpicks and glue to create geometric vocabulary pictures.  I also found this idea from Pinterest.