Geometry with Origami - Movie Clip Monday Linky!

Techie Turtle Teacher has started a fun new linky party called "Movie Clip Monday." I loved using video clips in my classroom because it helps students to visualize concepts and reinforce verbal explanations. What a great idea to share ideas and save each other some time scanning the web for the best ones.

A few days ago I posted my FREE Geometry quizzes for Grades 3-8. I wrote about a vocabulary illustration assignment that I used in my classroom to help students make creative associations between the plethora of vocal terms, and the visual geometric representations for each one. Follow this link to read my previous post and enter my weekly Raffle!

Today I'd like to share a website with multiple video clips that illustrate folding techniques for origami projects. Kids LOVE this!!!! I have always loved origami, but in the past teaching my students with the step-by-step diagrams was very difficult for most. These video clips are awesome because they animate each fold and you have the option of repeating the demonstration, speeding it up, sowing it down, or playing it in reverse!

Here are some project ideas for Valentines Day from Origami Club. The stars indicate the level of difficulty. The menu to the left gives other categories of projects. (animation) means there's a video.

Things to keep in mind when using origami for geometry:

1. Know what you want to teach! The Common Core Geometry standards vary widely for each grade level and aren't necessarily in sequence; meaning 4th graders for example, are learning about angles for the first time with little to no prior knowledge or vocabulary. I always found it helpful to have a list of vocabulary words or concepts posted along my front board so I could remind myself what to refer to.

Your vocal/concept list might include: symmetry, lines, angles, polygon shapes, or transformations. There are so many things you can point out while working through the steps!

2. Partner kids with different competencies. Some kids really take to the 3-D visualization of paper-folding, and others do not get it. There's no way to get around the room to help every kid who gets stuck on the first step. Partner them with a peer or in small groups so that there's at least one confident student who can help the others. You can simply ask kids who has done origami before, or do a few quick test directions to see who is following along quickly and easily. 

These are a couple of origami models I would keep in the classroom to spark curiosity. The cube required 12 pieces of paper, and the star polyhedron required 30!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy trying these videos with your class!!!