Geometry for the spatially challenged

[KarenAnne]

My daughter will be tackling geometry next year and I'm at a loss how to go about this. She has very mixed spatial skills -- is good at memorizing maps, can rotate some things in her mind, but has tremendous difficulty with the more conventional basic geometry we've done in the lower grades. To complicate the issue, she also has fine motor problems that make using a compass and even a ruler really, really hard for her. Does anyone have any suggestions whatsoever for materials, approaches, etc. to use with a mathematically very bright child with these problems? I know many texts or programs use graphing calculators and wondered whether anyone has suggestions about texts with the most explicit and useful instructions for going this route.

We have not used Saxon at all up to now, but I understand they mix algebra II with geometry and would love feedback on whether that would break up what might be a frustrating year-long focus on shapes alone.

P.S. Her mother/teacher/aide is also geometrically challenged. Please please please, any and all help would be so appreciated!

[AngieW in Texas]

I'm dreading getting to that point with my youngest. She has visual processing issues. I can't see geometry being anything other than a huge frustration for her. She has problems just reading a protractor.

As far as the fine motor part goes, I was worried about for my middle dd. She has fine motor issues to an extent that she still has extreme problems with buttons, zippers, ziplocks, socks, ... Using the compass and ruler was extremely difficult for her at first. I had to be with her and help her with both of them. She did get to a point where she could do it independently.

You might want to look into programs like Geometer Sketchpad.

[Jane in NC]

High school geometry is less about using a ruler and protractor and more about understanding geometric relationships and learning how to prove things. If the abstraction of algebra was not a problem for her, then geometry should not be a problem either.

How does she do when asked to sketch out a word problem in algebra or earth science? Is she able to transfer written information to a picture format?

Jann in TX is our resident expert on traditional high school geometry programs. Perhaps you could send her a PM for advice on a curriculum that might work well for your daughter.

Graphing calculators are not usually employed in a geometry course. They are a tool that is used in Algebra II or Precalculus and above.

[KarenAnne]

Thank you so much for the responses. It was particularly nice to hear that at least one student with fine motor challenges mastered using some of the tools. And thanks for passing along the PM info.

My daughter is brilliant at word problems and excels in algebra, although she doesn't much take to it. I can usually draw her in as long as I keep the practice problem sessions relatively short and sit nearby or work with her. She will likewise do well with the logic aspect of geometry (at least as I remember it from all those years ago) but the spatial ones will still be quite a struggle.

Has anyone found "outside" geometry materials to add interest or depth? I'm thinking videos, games, building things, real-world applications (I've read about astronomy using triangulation but I've never done it myself)?

[Colleen in NS]

Check out these books (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=marion+smoothey&x=0&y=0) by Marion Smoothey. Part of the Let's Investigate series, there are titles such as: angles, shapes, shape patterns, triangles, quadrilaterals, solids, circles, etc.. I discovered these gems in my library a few weeks ago when I was on a geometry activity kick.

Here's a geometry site (http://www.coolmath.com/0-geometry-math-art.html) that is really fun. My favourite sections are about polyhedra, tesselations, and fractals. Look for library books on those topics, too.