RightStart Geometry

The continuing saga of our adventures using RightStart Geometry and RightStart B. I have an 11yo and a 7yo who have average math ability.The 11yo has done Miquon, Singapore, RightStart Transitions, Level D and Level E; RightStart has saved her from a life a math phobia.

I try to update our adventures on Tuesdays, although sometimes it doesn’t get done until Wednesday. And sometimes we really haven’t done that much math, so I skip it entirely.


RightStart Geometry:

Lesson 99 Two Pentagon Tessellations

“Start by cutting out the 25 pentagons on the first worksheet”. It is so hard to line up little bits of paper to make patterns. The edges curl, the little bits want to float away. Kid 1 tries putting double stick tape on them to help them stay in place, but that doesn’t work too well.

She is supposed to find 2 patterns she can make with these pentagons. She can only find one. I’m okay with that, given the little-bits-of-paper issue. She is supposed to draw the patterns on the worksheet. She opts (at my suggestion) to do the drawing freehand rather than with her drawing tools. Yes, the drawing tools can be more precise, but there is value in being able to draw geometric shapes freehand.

Lesson 100 Regular Tessellations

This lesson takes a look at 9-, 10- and 12-sided polygons. The student is to find the interior angle of various polygons, ranging from 3-sided to 12-sided. In our case, the student gets a quick refresher on how to find the interior angle (so did the student's mom, for that matter). She knew the interior angles of the smaller polygons off the top of her head, interestingly, but had to figure them out for the heptagon on up. Once that hurdle is leapt, the worksheet is fairly quick.

Again, the tessellations are drawn freehand at our house.