This year the students in Years 4 to 6 have been invited to participate in a pilot program designed by Centenary Professor Tom Lowrie from the University of Canberra. This program focusses on the use of spatial reasoning and visual imagery to solve mathematics problems.

In year 4 the students have been focussing on spatial visualisation. Some of the concepts they will look at are:

• symmetry in the environment
• symmetrical patterns, pictures and shapes
• two-dimensional shapes that result in combining and splitting common shapes

In year 5 the students have been focusing on mental rotation. Some of the concepts they will look at are:

• translations, reflections and rotations of two-dimensional shapes.
• line and rotational symmetries
• prisms and solids formed from combinations of prisms
• 2D objects and the properties of the resulting image compared with the original

In year 6 the students have been focusing on spatial orientation. Some of the concepts they will look at are:

• routes using landmarks and directional language
• simple prisms and pyramids
• recognising and using patterns and relationships

Here are some photos of the year 6 students building and drawing 3D objects from different perspectives (top, left, right, back and front).