His Treasure Seekers

Since Classical Conversations released The Math Map in 2023, I’ve gone through the 30 lessons at least 5 times in various forms, as a tutor, a teacher at home, and “lead learner” trying to understand concepts I never learned in school myself. This year, as I prep each week (taking my Challenge class through it on Community Day, in addition to using it at home with my four youngest children), I’m writing a post on each lesson, sharing things I’ve found helpful or offering some suggestions in hopes of making it less intimidating to those just getting started.

Tips for Lesson 12: Polygons

After last week’s lesson, I find this one a bit of a relief, as there is a lot more that feels familiar.

• Invention (i² page)
  • In looking at Standard International Units, consider the idea of AUTHORITY
  • Tools must be accurate to get accurate measurements
  • What does the Bible say about measurement?

• Memoria and Arrangement (i³page) Most of my students have really enjoyed finding patterns on this page because so much of it feels familiar.
  • Can we come up with a definition of a “polygon” based on attending/comparing items on this page?
  • Can we come up with a formula for the number of triangles in a given polygon based on the number of sides?
  • How about for the number diagonals?
  • Note: these definitions and formulas are in the charts, but my classes have enjoyed the challenge of figuring them out themselves and then seeing that they were correct.

• Charts – Here are a few things that might be helpful to know before diving into the lesson pages:
  • C12:1 has definitions and formulas for calculating the properties of polygons as discussed above.
  • C12:2 is all about triangles, and depending on what Domain you’re working in, might be a good reference.
  • C12:3 looks at quadrilaterals and their properties.
  • C12:4 has helpful shortcuts for proving triangles to be similar or congruent (used in several Challenge domains)

Other help as you explore Lesson 12:

• I have found The Math Map Book Club to be a great resource, but there are so many episodes out there, it can be a bit overwhelming. If you just want to focus on this specific lesson, here’s my YouTube Playlist of Book Club videos about Lesson 12: Polygons (with episodes from 2024 to the present, since the 2023 episode seems to be missing).

Just for fun:

• Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter by Cindy Neuschwander is a fun way to introduce the ideas of area and perimeter to younger students.