Unit Description:

This is a unit designed for a weeklong summer camp targeting mathematically-gifted middle school age students. These students are exceptionally bright, and very quick to grasp new material. This curricular unit will be focused on geometric explorations and problem-solving scenarios.

Day 1: Introductions & How to Find the Area of Irregular Objects (Find the area of a pond). This lesson’s focus begins with more general shapes, and builds to area of compound shapes and that of irregular shapes.

Day 2: Extension: Predicting Energy Needs (Cylindrical Tank & HydroElectric Power. We will place initial emphasis on volume of common solids, then move to parts of those solids as well as water flow as a volume/time rate.

Day 3: FIFA Soccer: Properties of Angles. When should a soccer forward shoot to maximize their chances of scoring & construct a soccer ball.  The first part of this lesson utilizes NCTM illuminations, while the second part of the lesson creates a solid from a particular patterned net that will create a truncated icosahedron when folded correctly.  An interesting twist for students wanting to do more is found here...

Day 4: Let’s Fly a Kite: A Multi-Part Lesson with a Kite Theme. Using Right triangle trigonometry to find information for problems involving kites, build tetrahedral kites, comparing length changes to area changes to volume changes.