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Introduction
The transparent Giant GeoSolids
®
set includes 10 plastic, three-dimensional
shapes that allow for hands-on study of volume. These shapes can expand
daily math lessons while introducing, teaching, and reviewing geometric
concepts effectively. They allow students to make concrete connections between
geometric shapes and their associated formulas for volume, as
well as compare the volumetric relationship between each shape.
Most shapes in this set are variations of a prism or a pyrami d, both of
which are pol yhedrons. Polyhedrons are solid figures with flat sides, or
faces. Faces may meet at a point, called a vertex, or at a line, called an
edge. A prism has two congruent bases; the remaining faces are rectangles. A
pyramid has one base and the remaining faces are triangles.
Three shapes in this set have curved faces rather than flat ones: the cylinder,
cone, and sphere. Technically, they are not polyhedrons. Even so, a cylin-
der can be thought of as a circular prism: a figure with congruent circular bases
and a single, rectangular face. A cone can be thought of as a pyramid with a
circular base and a face that is a wedge. A sphere is a unique shape with no
parallel to prisms or pyramids.
At the outset, learning formulas for the volume of more than a dozen geometric
shapes may seem daunting to your students. However, formulas become much
easier to remember when students recognize that only the method for calculating
the area of a base changes from formula to formula; the other variables of a
polyhedron are calculated the same way, regardless of shape.
Getting Started with Transparent Geometric Shapes
Allow students to become familiar with the manipulatives before beginning
directed activities. You may want to explore prisms and pyramids on separate
days. Encourage students to handle, observe, and discuss the shapes. Ask them
to write down their observations as they make the following comparisons:
How are the shapes similar? (With the exception of the sphere, all shapes have
the same height. They are all three-dimensional. They all have empty spaces
inside them.) How are they different? (Some have flat sides, some have curved
sides. Some are box-shaped, some are round, and some are triangle-shaped.)
Where have students seen these shapes in the world around them? (Great
Pyramids
of Egypt, traffic pylons, film canisters, soccer balls, pieces of chalk, boxes,
lipstick tubes, and so on.)
Introduce and identify the following terms: face, edge, vertex or corner,
and base. Mention to students that the base of each shape can be identified
by its color.
Ask students how they might organize the shapes into categories based on their
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