Symmetry in Sports
10 min
Narrative
The purpose of this Warm-up is to elicit the idea that some baseball fields have a line of symmetry and some do not, which will be useful when students consider how symmetry of a field affects the rules of play in a later activity. While students may notice and wonder many things about these images, the presence or absence of a line of symmetry are the important discussion points.
Launch
- Groups of 2
- Display the image.
- “What do you notice? What do you wonder?”
- 1 minute: quiet think time
Teacher Instructions
- “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
- 1 minute: partner discussion
- Share and record responses.
Student Task
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Sample Response
Students may notice:
- Part of each figure is green.
- Part of the figure on the left is red and part of the figure on the right is blue.
- There are numbers around the top of each figure.
- The figure on the right has one line of symmetry, but the figure on the left doesn’t have any.
- The square at the bottom of each figure has 4 lines of symmetry.
Students may wonder:
- What are these figures?
- Are the numbers measurements?
- Are these baseball fields?
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
- “These are both diagrams of baseball fields. The figure on the left is a diagram of Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The figure on the right is a diagram of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.”
- “Fenway Park does not have a symmetrical baseball field, but Dodger Stadium does. Take a moment to draw the line of symmetry for the field in Dodger Stadium.”
- 30 seconds: quiet work time
- “In baseball, the fields don’t have to be symmetrical because the teams take turns hitting and fielding on the same field. So, neither team has an advantage.”
- “What are some sports that always have symmetrical fields or courts?” (Soccer, football, basketball, tennis, hockey)
- Share responses and record for all to see. Keep displayed for the next activity.
Standards
Addressing
- 4.G.3·Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.
- 4.G.A.3·Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.
15 min
25 min
Knowledge Components
All skills for this lesson
No KCs tagged for this lesson
Symmetry in Sports
10 min
Narrative
The purpose of this Warm-up is to elicit the idea that some baseball fields have a line of symmetry and some do not, which will be useful when students consider how symmetry of a field affects the rules of play in a later activity. While students may notice and wonder many things about these images, the presence or absence of a line of symmetry are the important discussion points.
Launch
- Groups of 2
- Display the image.
- “What do you notice? What do you wonder?”
- 1 minute: quiet think time
Teacher Instructions
- “Discuss your thinking with your partner.”
- 1 minute: partner discussion
- Share and record responses.
Student Task
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Sample Response
Students may notice:
- Part of each figure is green.
- Part of the figure on the left is red and part of the figure on the right is blue.
- There are numbers around the top of each figure.
- The figure on the right has one line of symmetry, but the figure on the left doesn’t have any.
- The square at the bottom of each figure has 4 lines of symmetry.
Students may wonder:
- What are these figures?
- Are the numbers measurements?
- Are these baseball fields?
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
- “These are both diagrams of baseball fields. The figure on the left is a diagram of Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The figure on the right is a diagram of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.”
- “Fenway Park does not have a symmetrical baseball field, but Dodger Stadium does. Take a moment to draw the line of symmetry for the field in Dodger Stadium.”
- 30 seconds: quiet work time
- “In baseball, the fields don’t have to be symmetrical because the teams take turns hitting and fielding on the same field. So, neither team has an advantage.”
- “What are some sports that always have symmetrical fields or courts?” (Soccer, football, basketball, tennis, hockey)
- Share responses and record for all to see. Keep displayed for the next activity.
Standards
Addressing
- 4.G.3·Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.
- 4.G.A.3·Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.