I dug up the above article as the same problems that confronted me then are perturbing me now. Is acceleration encouraged and effective? If we have limited time, should we spend it on helping students master basic concepts or giving them difficult problems to solve? What do you think?
I had fun teaching the topic of symmetry. Students had to remember that:
(1) A line of symmetry divides a figure into two parts that match exactly when the figure is folded along its line of symmetry.
(2) A symmetric figure has at least one line of symmetry.
The students folded origami paper and cut the paper to make symmetrical figures in class. During HBL, they explored other craft work that involves symmetry. I was proud of their efforts. Some of their work is shown below:
The teaching of this topic was interrupted by HBL. If I had more time, I would have incorporated music by getting them to do the YMCA dance. 💃The letters Y, M, C and A all have at least one line of symmetry.
I might also have brought them out of the classroom to observe their surroundings and draw pictures of symmetrical objects around them.
Pea's Teaching Blog 