Mathomat V4 geometry template, explorer pack.
Template supplied with 124 page student book.
The Mathomat V4 template, explorer pack includes a Mathomat version 4 geometry template with a 124 page illustrated student manual. The student manual has the same inspiring range of action based illustrated activities as the V2 Explorer manual. These create interesting contexts that allow students to make sense of geometry investigations more easily. In this revised version, there is;
- a new section on construction techniques for the Platonic and Archimedean solids using Mathomat V4.This section is full of action photography and detailed construction plans.
- a new section on angle measurement. We send the Mathomat kids back to Ancient Greece to interview Euclid and Proculus, asking them the question "what is an angle". Students are encouraged to understand the concept of angle so as to be able to use the protractor in Mathomat with real understanding.
- new action sheets to encourage students to practice their Mathomat skills with activities such as angle measurement, symmetry operations, and tessellation design.
The new Mathomat V4 geometry template
The Mathomat V4 template is the same shape as Mathomat V2 but, like the new Mathomat V3, is 22% larger in area. It has the same great selection of shapes, arranged in a user friendly hierarchical pattern around its central protractor that you would expect in a Mathomat. The larger Mathomat V4 size makes the following improvements possible;
A bigger, less complex protractor
At the centre of the new large-format Mathomat templates is a new protractor, which is:
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Big – It's oversize at 110mm diameter (120mm for the 180-degree protractor in Mathomat V5)
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Open – the larger size creates more space between degree lines. Students can understand the protractor's structure more easily.
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Simple – fewer degree scales - just the basics, labels are minimised, and protractor radius guides have a cleaner layout
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Conventional – in the case of protractors, we think teachers and students need to find information exactly where they expect to see it. So our new protractors follow a conventional layout.
Larger shapes to draw with
In the Mathomat V4 template the side length of the larger group of polygons has been increased to 25 mm (from 15mm in the Mathomat V2 template, and 20mm in th enew Mathomat V3 template). This allows for drawing useful sized nets to construct polyhedra and other 3-D shapes and for the drawing of larger 2-D patterns such as tessellation designs and square and rectangular prisms. An additional feature in the Mathomat V4 template is a special expansion scale for increasing regular polygon drawings to a 50mm radius to allow for creation of giant polyhedra models.
A useful feature of the Mathomat V4 template is that its larger regular polygons can be used in usefully sized Make'N'Draw activities in which students create designs using physical pattern blocks, and are then challenged to redraw their design at full size using their Mathomat V4 templates. This drawing challenge deepens student understanding by asking them to reconstruct their original block design.
Pattern blocks are used extensively in primary school, but they also have powerful applications at a middle school. The new Mathomat student manuals for Mathomat V4 will explore this potential, and extend from it using the soon to be released Math'O'Block range that will include all of the Mathomat template shapes as well as tangram and magic egg shapes, and shapes that are needed for construction of the Penrose Tiling
The Mathomat V4 template includes a new arc builder scale for drawing large diameter circles and arcs, as well as a new Tangram Tool. The tangram tool assist students in the creation of usefully sized tangram puzzle designs, either by creation of tangram shapes or by directly drawing their designs from the template itself.
The usual great range of Mathomat shapes and scales
The Mathomat V4 template has all of the great range of shape stencils such as useful graduated circles, ellipses, regular polygons, quadrilaterals and graphing curves that you would expect. Mathomat V4 also has the same rich collection of number lines as before, such as a linear radian scale, millimetre and centimetre scale and 1:20,000 street directory scale.as well as isometric and parallel lines for technical drawing.
