Using Origami to Promote Geometric Communication

Abstract

Rigami has been used frequently in teaching geometry to promote the development of spatial sense; to make multicultural connections with mathematical ideas; and to provide students with a visual representation of such geometric concepts as shape, properties of shapes, congruence, similarity, and symmetry. Such activities meet the Geometry Standard (NCTM 2000), which states that students should be engaged in activities that allow them to “analyze characteristics and properties of twoand three-dimensional geometric shapes and develop mathematical arguments about geometric relationships” and to “use visualization, spatial reasoning, and geometric modeling to solve problems” (p. 41). This article begins with an explanation of the importance of communication in the mathematics classroom and then describes a middle school mathematics lesson that uses origami to meet both the Geometry Standard as well as the Communication Standard.