Examples of what pupils should know and be able to do
Probing questions
Give me instructions to reflect this shape into this mirror line.
What would you suggest I do first?
How do you decide where to position each point in the image?
Make up a reflection that is easy to do.
Make up a reflection that is hard to do. What makes it hard?
Can you sketch the net of a square-based pyramid, a hexagonal prism, etc.?
Given the shape on the cross-section (e.g. an L-shaped hexagon), how many faces would the corresponding prism have? What shape would the faces be?
Show any net of a cube or a cuboid. Where would you put the tabs to glue the net together?
Construct a 3-D shape with given properties, e.g. at least two sets of parallel faces and at least two triangular faces.
What if pupils find this a barrier?
Ask pupils to describe what they see when given a diagram of an object, the mirror line and the image on squared paper. Start with vertical and horizontal mirror lines before extending to 45° diagonal lines. Encourage pupils to use the squares on the paper to measure distances between the mirror line, object and image.
Visually emphasise the importance of the line joining corresponding points on the object and image being perpendicular to the mirror line.
Also see TL4Y7: Shape, space and measures 4: S4.1, S4.2, S4.3 - Acrobat pdf document (48Kb).
Make nets using practical resources such as linking polygons before transferring to paper or cardboard.
Explore different types of cardboard packaging - Easter egg boxes are particularly interesting.
Ensure plenty of opportunities for visualisation (e.g. linking five or six squares together and justifying whether or not they will fold into a closed or open box; linking four equilateral triangles together and justifying whether they will fold into a regular tetrahedron).
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