Here is the first week of my Shapes Unit. These are just the problems--I do lots and lots of other activities to get the kids exploring and really thinking about the attributes of shapes. I will detail specific activities tomorrow in a warm-up post. But for now, here are some problems! This is a very hands-on unit. I provide my students with lots pattern blocks and other shape tiles so that they can explore and manipulate shapes in a very concrete manner. Pattern Blocks Square Color Tiles Shape Magnets Day 1 For this problem, I give each student a blackline master of a circle and some colored square tiles. I challenge them to fill the circle completely with the square tiles. They cannot overlap the tiles and they must cover the circle completely--no white spaces left. They will try and try and try--but despite their best efforts, they are unable to complete the challenge. The most important part of this problem is the discussion that occurs during and afterwards. Why can't they fill the circle with the square tiles? They will inevitably come to the conclusion that they cannot fill the circle with squares because squares have straight edges and...