Sometimes geoboards are left on the shelf because we don’t know what to do with them. They can be powerful tools for students to study, length, area and perimeter. (But remember to be careful with the perimeter part because the length of one unit is only measured on the horizontal or vertical, not the diagonal.) Geoboards can help students experience area so that they can develop area formulas for themselves.
Geoboards in the Classroom
This unit deals with the length and area of two-dimensional geometric figures using the geoboard as a pedagogical device. Five lesson plans are provided.
The Online Geoboard
An applet simulates the use of an actual geoboard without the usual limitations of working with rubber bands. Most materials designed for real geoboards may be used with this online version.
Rectangle: Area, Perimeter, Length, and Width
This applet features an interactive grid for forming rectangles. The student can form a rectangle and then examine the relationships among perimeter, area, and the dimensions of the rectangle as the rectangle dimensions are varied.
Investigating the Concept of Triangle and the Properties of Polygons: Making Triangles
These activities use interactive geoboards to help students identify simple geometric shapes, describe their properties, and develop spatial sense.
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives: Geometry (Grades 6—8)
This site has a number of virtual manipulatives related to the NCTM geometry standards.
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