How does DG incorporate manipulatives into Geometry?
Almost every lesson involves students working in groups performing geometric investigations with manipulatives. The investigations use a wide range of readily available manipulatives including compasses, straightedges, rulers, protractors, scissors, heavy stock paper, graph paper, patty paper, square dot paper, isometric dot paper, glue stick, tape, string, wooden or plastic cubes, mirrors, and pattern blocks, to name the most common. We recommend commercially available geometric solids for discovering volume formulas and surface area formulas for prisms, pyramids, cylinders, cones, and spheres. Students typically use graphing calculators and geometry software such as The Geometer’s Sketchpad for investigations and extra explorations. Projects and Explorations in the text and supplementary materials also encourage the use of hands-on materials. Students build arches out of Chinese take-out cartons, build kaleidoscopes out of paper towel tubes, and build clinometers and hypsometers out
