So today we were doing problems involving finding the area of composite figures. My students know the area formulas and they know how to find the area of given polygons.
But what they cannot do, it seems, is see regular polygons in composite figures. They are unable to break up an L shaped figure into 2 rectangles.
They also have difficulty using corresponding sides to figure incomplete lengths.
So while they can use the numbers in formulas, they clearly are not relating them to the real world.
TO PONDER:
Why do they have so much trouble visualizing the parts and breaking down the whole?
What can be done in math to help with this visualization deficit? Certainly lots of visual examples and perhaps manipulatives that can be taken apart and put together to form composites and regular figures. And maybe it is not what can be done in math but what can be done in other areas including art and science to attach math to the real world.
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