Lesson 12
More than One Way to Make a Shape
Lesson Purpose
The purpose of this lesson is for students to put together shapes in multiple ways to form larger shapes.
Lesson Narrative
In previous lessons, students filled in puzzles using pattern blocks. In this lesson, students notice that there are multiple ways to put together pattern blocks to make a shape as they fill in more complex puzzles. They begin by filling up a pattern block puzzle that doesn’t show the individual shapes, which requires changing the orientation of shapes. Then they create the same shapes using different pattern blocks. Students should have access to pattern blocks throughout the lesson, including during the lesson synthesis.
- Engagement
- MLR8
Learning Goals
Teacher Facing
- Put shapes together in multiple ways to form larger shapes.
Student Facing
- Let’s figure out how many different ways we can make a shape.
Required Materials
Materials to Gather
Materials to Copy
- Pattern Blocks Stage 5 Mat
- Pattern Blocks Stage 5 Recording Sheet
Required Preparation
Activity 3:
- Gather materials from:
- Geoblocks, Stages 1 and 2
- Build Shapes, Stages 1 and 2
- Pattern Blocks, Stages 1-5
- Less, Same, More, Stages 1-4
Lesson Timeline
| Warm-up | 10 min |
| Activity 1 | 10 min |
| Activity 2 | 10 min |
| Activity 3 | 20 min |
| Lesson Synthesis | 10 min |
| Cool-down | 0 min |
Teacher Reflection Questions
What do you love most about math? How are you sharing that joy with your students and encouraging them to think about what they love about math?