Journal of the Mathematics Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association
Volume 51 Issue 2, June 2014
23 – 29
Geometry with Three Pigs, One Wolf and Seven Magic Shapes
Carole Kamieniecki
According to van Hiele ( 1999), children go through five stages as they develop geometric concepts. At the first level, visualization, children identify shapes based on a prototypical shape; the shape is judged based on its overall appearance only, and specific attributes are not considered (Hannibal J 999; van Hiele 1999; Ryan and Williams 2007). One example of a problem that can occur at this stage is that when a square is rotated 1 /8 turn, so that one vertex is pointed down, children may no longer identify it as a square; they may call it a diamond (Margerm 1999).
