Guided Instruction The Genius Child, LLC 2019
Triangles are curious little beasts. A shape with 3 sides of various lengths and -the angles! In simple terms, tri means 3. Preschool children should count the corners and discern the difference between a triangle from a square. Tripod and tricycles are examples of the prefix used in other words. These associations help children to retain information. However, come middle school, triangles are classified in one of two ways: by the length of its sides and by the degree of its angles. It may be helpful to describe an angle as the corner and point to angles in the room or the corner of a table and to discuss that a degree is a unit of measure. Elaborate on the term, degree, by having students call out the unit of measure when weighing ourselves (pounds) or the distances to far away state (miles). This conversation supports differentiation.
Degrees are further explored with the Arc on the Yellow Templaytes®, where the Arc is the contour of a protractor.
What to expect: equilateral, isosceles, scalene, acute, right and obtuse are introduced like a foreign language in math and are new terms to be memorized. Templaytes® provide a visual. This is a day in the life of your child at school. Rarely are triangles broken down for students. Templaytes® help support the specifics involved in learning angles. Children are allowed to touch, arrange and trace the shapes, hence learn through play.
Templaytes® contain 8 triangles that are classified as both a right triangle and an isosceles triangle. All 8 triangles have one right angle and 2 acute angles while 2 sides are equal in length. A right angle is ‘just right’ and aligns with a corner on a table or piece of paper which is 90degrees. Any acute angle is less than 90degrees. Without getting too involved,Templaytes® allow children to have fun and learn through play or discourse. Arranging Templaytes® in various designs will allow the genius in your child to pay attention to detail, even before being able to articulate it. Templaytes® allow for an experience with triangles unmatched by other manipulative.
Attention to detail:
One big triangle- the right angles touch in the center bottom. One big square- the long sides touch and right angles point in opposite directions. One big parallelogram- the short sides touch and the right angles point in opposite directions.
For more elaborate designs and mosaics, allow your young genius to keep turning and rotating the triangles until the design appears. The answer is there. Most children will learn by looking with no attention to the angles, however, others prefer the direction. Have fun!