Creating Patterns Using Practical Geometry

The teacher brings out the creativity of his students by providing them a space to express their inherent skills in designing, thereby developing their interest in practical geometry.

Background of the school and its students:

Dr. Ambedkar Government Higher Secondary School, Kirumambakkam, is situated in a coastal area. Most of the students belong to the fishermen community and hail from very poor families. Their parents mostly work to earn daily wages and have a hard time in satisfying even their basic needs. Most of the parents are alcoholics, and they have not realised the importance of education. Hence, the students receive minimal parental care. Parents love their children but they are not aware of how children are to be cared for and how their health or well-being should be maintained. Some of the students are brought up by their grandparents or their relatives. Many of the students are first-generation learners. The students are generally short tempered, since they tend to bring the issues and problems faced at their home and community to the classroom, and they often get involved in fights. However, they respect their teachers.

Introducing subjects through the interest areas of the students:

I have been taking the responsibility of the same set of students for the past two years (Class 6 and 7), and, hence, I have come to know about the strengths and weaknesses of my students. The students enjoy drawing, making patterns, creating beautiful craft work, and they also like to engage in debates and discussions. I was aware that the parents of the students who belong to the fishermen community are engaged in knitting fishing nets. I was also aware that the students themselves assist their parents in knitting those in their free time.

So, the students were quite aware of the basic geometric constructions of different shapes, such as triangles, quadrilaterals, using given angles. Considering their inherent skill and interest for creating designs, I planned a session on practical geometry to help them tap their creativity further, thereby channelizing their energy positively.

Practical Geometry through designing:

Sample videos of various patterns and designs that were downloaded from the internet were shown to the students. They were asked whether it would be possible for them to make unique designs on their own in graph sheets.

The students were very enthusiastic in taking up the task. I observed that although the students attempted to create their own designs, there were striking similarities in the patterns created by them which could be due to their shared cultural experiences.

Teacher: Ilayaraju S (TGT), Dr. A.G.H.S.S, Kirumampakkam