Teachers' Notes:

Fractals-

A Fractals Lesson for Elementary and Middle School Students

This lesson uses fractal geometry to introduce students to modern mathematics and also to reinforce arithmetic and geometry skills that they study in school. It has been written to comply with the suggestions in the NCTM Standards. (Visit the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse to see the Standards on-line.)
• Grade Levels: 4-8

• Lesson Procedures: Students will study properties of fractals by utilizing various online resources. The lesson is designed so that students can work independently with guidance when needed from the teacher.

• Mathematics Topics: Patterns, ordering fractions, area, similarity, measurement

• Connecting Mathematics:
  • Connects math with art, writing, history, and career information

  • Connects arithmetic and geometry

• Materials and media: None other than a computer with Internet access and graphics capabilities, although triangle grid paper and posterboard is helpful.

• Suggested Assessment: Questions are included with each section. A mini research project could be assigned after completion of the lesson. Students would complete an on-line portfolio that includes examples of other fractals, a paper describing what they have learned, a biography of a mathematician who does research on fractals, etc. Be sure to have them include a bibliography of the urls they used.

  Please email me with any questions. lanius@cml.rice.edu

  Return to the Fractals Index

  

  These pages were developed through GirlTECH '96, a teachertraining and student technology council program sponsored bythe Center for Research onParallel Computation (CRPC), a NationalScience Foundation Science and Technology Center. Copyright June, 1996 Cynthia Lanius