For many high school students, geometry is not a favorite subject. Many concepts are challenging to grasp and require intense concentration to fully understand.
Additionally, concepts are interlinked; for example, you’ll see algebra pop-up in geometry.
If a student lacks confidence in both geometry and algebra, it discourages them from taking an interest in putting 100% into the subjects.
This puts the responsibility on teachers to develop engaging ways to keep their students’ interest in math–like adopting innovative geometry games.
Most teachers think that teaching the traditional way via worksheets and exercising problems is the only way to learn geometry. It is essential to practice math problems, but other methods need to be employed to have a long-lasting effect.
Let them touch and build 3D shapes
Geometry is a visual topic. Many people believe it is more creative than analytical, and students frequently struggle to transition from Algebra to Geometry. Instead of the analytical skills they were used to in Algebra, they must employ their spatial and logical skills.
The foundation of Geometry is based on theorems and postulates that describe the dimensions of 2D and 3D shapes, and the interaction between them. It is hard students
An excellent way to help students learn 3D shapes is by actually touching them, seeing them and building them. When you present concepts like surface area D2volume, let your students touch the shapes and identify the dimensions. There is a plethora of geometry manipulatives available to showcase to your students.
You can also set up craft activities where the students construct 3D solids with paper, cardboard, toothpicks, or skewers. It allows them to bring shapes to life and orient them in ways that strengthen their knowledge of the solids’ properties.
For example, the volume of a cone is a third of cylinders with the same base area. Pick 3 students to make 3 cones and 1 student to make a cylinder of the same base area. Fill them up with water and empty them into two jugs and show them the result.
The Bridge Activity
Another fun way students can engage in geometry is by incorporating geometry games that involve building bridges. Provide them with resources such as craft sticks, pine boards toothpicks, wood screws, glue and tape.
Students will learn the engineering processes of design, building and testing! They will apply concepts to real-world applications, and answer many engineering questions:
- What geometric shapes are used in bridge building?
- What geometry shape is most commonly used?
- What does a truss do?
- How many trusses does my bridge need?
- How much weight can my bridge handle before deformation occurs?
Define the length of a gap between two tables and assign your students the task to bridge the gap between them using the resources provided. Students can work in groups to use concepts about the strength of shapes, arcs, and cylinders in construction.
Once built, you can test the bridges by placing a weight on them like a certain number of books. As we all know, high school students love watching their creations in action. They’ll shout with excitement when they see their peers’ bridges tumbling down!!
Organize a Class Quiz
No, not a surprise quiz. Students detest nothing more than unannounced quizzes. We’re talking about a quiz-like game show where students compete with others in groups to solve problems.
You can have rounds where the team with the lowest points at the end of each round gets eliminated. The last team standing wins. Each round can be different.
The first can be a group round where students can answer questions in a group, the second a quick-fire round, and the third an individual round. The team with the most points wins.
Come up with Geometry Games Based on Trends Students Like
Memes and pop culture are a staple with high school students. You’ll see their level of interest jump up when you involve something that has the potential to go viral. Tell students to come up with memes based on geometry.
Make it into a competition where the funniest one wins. Similarly, students can play a “make me laugh Geometry game” where two students sit facing each other with mouthfuls of water. Their teammate tells a silly joke based on geometry, like:
What did the triangle say to the circle? Answer: You’re pointless.
In a classroom setting, many students will want to see their peers spilling water on each other just for the fun of it!
You can even involve social media in these activities. Let your students record the games you play and let them post videos or pictures on TikTok or YouTube (with the consent of the other students, of course). They’ll be happy to see their view count increase while learning essential geometry concepts.
Use Triangles
Triangles are among the most diverse shapes in geometry, but this brings several concepts that students need to master, like triangle types, properties, trigonometry, and similarity and congruency.
An excellent way to judge how well students have embraced the topic is by playing geometry games related to triangles. You can introduce many triangle topics:
- Types of triangles by angle size (obtuse, right, acute)
- Types of triangles by side length (equilateral, isosceles, scalene)
- Pythagorean theorem
- Trigonometric ratios
You can start with a matching game where students identify triangles by their side lengths and angle size with pictures. You can follow up with a geometry bingo game that focuses on triangles. The possibilities are endless!
Use Activity Bundles
As a teacher, I know how much we struggle with developing thorough lesson plans to introduce essential concepts to our students.
We may be short on time while planning lessons, giving students individual attention during office hours, or grading papers and tests.
Therefore, to cut back on time, you can employ activity bundles that already come with resources for geometry games that help students. Plus, they make things so fun,
Bundles like this have games like bingo, jeopardy, and digital task cards so that teachers don’t have to worry about the material and resources they’ll need.
Final Thoughts
Playing geometry games in class instills many vital concepts in students other than math…. like sportsmanship, healthy competition, attention, and problem-solving skills.
Whether we are a teacher or homeschool parent, it is the our responsibility to incorporate as many resources as we can to make students’ learning experience fun and engaging such that no student gets left behind. Education is a performance! It is our goal to keep them engaged. Educational games do just that!
