‘Foldify’ in Year 1

In Year 1, as part of maths, the students are looking at shapes and using the language that assists them to recognise and classify familiar two dimensional and three dimensional objects.  As part of the rotation in Maths we have used the app ‘Foldify’ to explore the use of this language and to consolidate their understanding.

 

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It is a tremendously engaging app that provides students with a range of options for creating a net of a 3D shape, enabling them to then easily print it to be able to put it together.     I am always super impressed by the range of shapes available, which makes it usable for any age of students.  In Yr 1, for this lesson,  we started with just a basic prism but older students can make quite elaborate creatures and shapes.

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 The students are able to manipulate the net, zooming in on it and zooming out on it.  It can be turned and repositioned.  They get very excited when they see the array of tools they can use to decorate each face – including paint and drawing tools, stamp tools, patterning tools and the ability to take a photograph of their own face.

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An interesting and useful feature is that when they place something on a face on the net, it immediately offers the view of the solid shape…….and they are able to manipulate it so they can see the other faces. There was much consternation at one point when a student couldn’t find the face they were looking for, but then realised it was on the base face.

It prints easily when complete – with options for small, medium and larger print-outs.  The large one fits to an A4 page.  They then have to go about folding and sticking the edges together to change it from a net to a solid shape.  I am looking forward to seeing the ones they produce!

 

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As a school which is currently exploring implementation of the the Digital Technologies Curriculum and mapping it against other areas, it is also interesting to note that the students are delving into this content descriptor:

Recognise and explore digital systems (hardware and software components) for a purpose 

with the elaborations listing

Elaborations

  • playing with and using different digital systems for transferring and capturing data, for example using a tablet to take a photograph of a grandparent and recording an interview with them about life in the past
  • exploring and using digital systems for downloading and storing information, for example knowing how to download images from a website and inserting them into a document; saving and retrieving data
  • exploring and identifying hardware and software components of digital systems when creating ideas and information, for example experimenting with different ways of providing instructions to games software using a mouse, touch pad, touch screen, keyboard, stylus, or switch scanning device, and using different software to manipulate text, numbers, sound and images
  • recognising and using hardware and software components of digital systems and experimenting with their functions, for example playing with interactive toys and robotic devices to determine which ones can work with other devices
  • recognising that a digital system follows instructions or commands, for example instructing robotic toys to perform a function such as a dance movement
  • constructing a model of a real or imaginary digital systems device for use in role-play scenarios and explaining the features of the device to an adult