Learning Updates for May 29 to June 2

Seventh Graders Explore Many Dimensions in Math

As seventh grade students wrap up their last math unit of the year, they’re expanding on some geometric ideas to think beyond the two and three-dimensional figures from their workbooks. What would a four-dimensional figure be like? How can we think about the fourth and fifth dimensions if we can’t see beyond our 3-D world? To get a grasp on these abstract ideas, seventh grade mathematicians took it down to two dimensions and thought about what the inhabitants of a two-dimensional world would be like. They created and shared zany and unique “Flatlanders,” complete with names, backstories, and hobbies. After lively discussions about what can and cannot happen in two dimensions, students then revised their characters to be sure they could see, eat, and move within the limits of Flatland. Taking the perspective of a two-dimensional being, students wondered how they would perceive the third dimension, one dimension beyond their own world. From that thought exercise, and inspired by the astrophysicist Carl Sagan, students will try to bump back into our 3-D world and attempt to think about the fourth dimension and beyond. Care for a game of 4-D tic-tac-toe? Ask a seventh grader to teach you how to play!

– Sarah Pikcilingis, grade 7 math teacher