Lesson 5- Symme"trees": Understanding Same

Lesson 5: Symme “trees” (Symmetry): Understanding Same

Objectives:
Language Arts- Begins to relate events in literature to personal experiences
Social Studies- Explore how weather influences their lives.
Science- Use senses to understand world around them.
Math- Explore the concept of same.

Materials:

Book: A Pair of Socks by Stuart Murphy
http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780064467032/A_Pair_of_Socks/index.aspx
At least 10 pairs of old socks with patterns/ stripes/ solids and in different sizes (Will get paint on them)
Branches from pine trees (enough for each student to have one)
10 Pine cones
Green paint
Brown paint
Puffy paint
Large butcher paper
Picture of pine tree
Cotton balls or circle sponges

Procedure:

Have the students sit in a circle. The teacher should begin the lesson by wearing a strange pair of socks (stripes or patterns). Explain to the students that you are wearing socks because it is cold outside. When it is cold outside people wear socks to keep their feet warm. Ask who is wearing socks today? Have the students touch their socks on their feet. Tell the students that your socks look the same. The socks are also the same size and shape. If you have a student with a visual impairment, let them feel a pair of socks that have one dot of puffy paint on each sock. Show them how the socks each have one dot. They are the same. Tell the students that sometimes you have a problem. Sometimes when you get dressed you can’t find a pair of socks that look the same and show them an example of different patterns, different colors, and different sizes. (For students with visual impairments, have them feel a sock with one dot and a sock with more than one dot and socks of different sizes). Ask if they sometimes have a hard time finding socks that look the same?

Then, read them the book A Pair of Socks by Stuart Murphy. If you really want to get creative, put on one striped sock and use the other striped sock as a puppet while you read the story. Then when you finish the story, put your striped sock on your foot and talk about how they are the same.

Next, tell the students they are going to paint pine trees using a pair of socks that look the same. First model for the students by showing them three socks (two are the same) and holding up one from the pair say out loud, “Find the same sock.” Talk about why you are not choosing the one that is different and then pick the one that is the same and tell why. Divide the students into groups based on their ability levels to complete an appropriate activity.

Exploration: Show the students the socks, let them touch the socks and have them try to say or sign the word socks. http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
Show them a matching pair and tell them same. See if they can repeat the word same. (Use the puffy paint and size variance for students with visual impairments).

Imitation: Show the students three socks (two are the same), hold up one from the pair and ask them to find same. Prompt them as needed.

Application: Show the students three socks (two are the same) and ask them to find same. Repeat with different sets of socks varying the size, pattern, or color. See if they can tell you how they are the same.

Once all of the students have a pair of socks that are the same, they should go to an area where they can paint on butcher paper.

Show the students a picture of a pine tree. Ask questions about where pine trees grow? What color are pine trees? Tell the students that pine trees stay green all year round and they have brown pine cones on them. Let each student feel the needles from a pine tree and pine cones. Let them smell the pine. Tell them they are going to paint the white paper with green paint using their socks that are the same. Have each student put the socks on their hands and dip the socks in green paint. Let them paint the white butcher paper green using the socks. For students with visual impairments, it may be more meaningful to have them finger-paint instead of using socks. Once the paint dries, the teacher should cut out tree shapes from the green paintings the students did on the butcher paper. There should be enough trees for each student to have one. Then the trees should be folded in half with the paint side out and the students should be given something to make small brown dots representing pine cones on one half of the tree. Then before the paint dries, fold the tree in half the opposite way, so that the paint sides are together and let the brown spots touch the other side both halves of the tree look the same. The students created symmetrical trees or symmetrees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!