I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning!

Today we are going to talk about movement in geometry. Why do we need to know about movement in geometry? It helps us to know how shapes stay the same but can move positions. Just because they move- doesn't mean they necessarily become a new shape. The movements are as follows, with their mathematical term.

Slide: Translation-Imagine opening a window- how it slide up and down

Turn: Rotation- Imagine a Ferris wheel turning in a circle or the turntable inside a microwave.

Flip: Reflection- Looking into a mirror or pressing a inked stamp onto a piece of paper

Please review the following video to gain further understanding on the idea of slide, flip, turn.

These may seem like basic terms to many of us, but to students this concept can be quite difficult to obtain. If you study the below image you will see how these different movements can be easily confused, especially for the movements of slide and flip.

If you have a child who is going through these lessons in school, it would be an excellent idea to draw or even act out these movements. If you draw it out consider using a dot or line paper to show how the shapes are the same size and can even move on the same axis point (turn only on one corner). If you want to act out the movement you can try sliding across the floor or opening a window. You can open a door or pivot on one foot to show flip (from front to back), and for turn you could tell your dog to lay on the floor and then turn him to a 90 degree angle- or just use a pencil or other object to demonstrate this action. Good luck and whatever you do- have fun with it!!