Students were introduced to the concept of symmetry. I explained that symmetry describes something that has the same size and shape on both sides of a dividing line.  To illustrate this concept, I divided a student in half.

We discussed that this student has the same body parts on each side…one eye on one side, one on the other, and so forth. I asked students to close their eyes and then modified Miss. G.

Is she still symmetrical?

Nope!

We got really technical here…..Miss G. now has a bow on one side of her head. Then students began looking at other parts of Miss G. that are not symmetrical, like the school logo is only on one side of the uniform, and so forth.

I called the students’ attention back to the Smart Board and played a short video on symmetry in nature.

Then we delved a little deeper into the line of symmetry with this video clip.

Time to put their knowledge to the test. I had students sort objects according to whether or not they were symmetrical either vertically or horizontally.

This is a close up of the objects sorted during the activity.

Then we worked to find the line of symmetry of paper shapes. Students were encouraged to fold each shape in a way that made the shape symmetrical, clearly defining the line of symmetry.

Bring this concept home and have your child find symmetrical items in your house or in nature. They are everywhere!