AGS First Graders Have All the Angles
First-graders at Alice Gustafson didn’t have to travel far for a museum or geometry lesson last week.
Representatives from the DuPage Children’s Museum came to AGS with loads of knowledge about 2D and 3D shapes and materials to build them in a “geobox.” The geoboxes were made as part of first-graders’ geometry, fractions, and time-telling unit. And, yes, first graders are learning geometry!
Take a look at how it all unfolded in the AGS LRC ….

DuPage Children’s Museum instructor Ms. McDougall showing students the difference between 2D and 3D shapes and how to make a 3D sphere.

Ms. McDougall sharing how 3D shapes are used in everyday packaging, like Pop-Tart boxes.

Students and parent volunteers learned that a flat box is called a “development net” in the design world, and that the flat 2D shape contains score lines. When folded and glued together, it forms a 3D shape.

After the 2D/3D lesson, students got their “geoboxes” and applied a piece of black paper to the back.

Students then made 3D shapes from 2D paper sheets, like spheres, cubes, and cylinders.

Hey, it’s AGS first-grade teacher Miss Erickson in the background talking with Ms. Turner, a DuPage Children’s Museum Instructor. The DuPage Children’s Museum conducts several types of educational workshops (house calls!) in schools.

Hey, it’s Batavia High School senior Laura Fox helping students with their geoboxes. Laura is interning in Miss Erickson’s class at AGS to get hands-on teaching experience before she heads off to college in the fall. #101alag

This creative first-grader is in line to get her 3D designs affixed to her geobox.

After making 3D creations, first-graders came up with themes for their boxes. This student turned his geobox into a gym and made his hanging sphere a punching bag. He later added a cube as a storage locker.

This student turned her geobox into a bedroom with a lamp, chair, disco ball, and a staircase. Clever!

Students really got creative with their geoboxes and learned more about geometric shapes in the process. The DuPage Children’s Museum instructors did an outstanding job reinforcing concepts recently taught in class.