Transformations Project Lesson Plan

Students will be able to perform translations, reflections, rotations, and dilations on a polygon. 

• Student project packet
• Online practice
• Graph paper
• Colored pencils/crayons

Designing student images

For this project, students will create their own images, then apply transformations to them! When I’ve done this with my students I’ve seen all sorts of awesome figures! You’ll give each student a piece of graph paper and have them draw an `x` and `y` axis right in the middle across the whole page.  

Tell students they need to stick to the guidelines: 

• The original figure should be made up of line segments. 
• Each point should be labeled with a letter.

Aside from that, let your students decide what they want to make! In my experience, giving examples tends to hinder students' creativity, but go with what you feel is best for your class.

Introducing the transformations

Before students begin designing their figure, explain the key concepts behind the project. You should hand out the student project packet.

Here’s what I would explain:

• Once you’re finished creating your initial figure, you’ll start with the transformations: a translation, a reflection, a rotation, and a dilation.
• You can come up with the rules for each transformation on your own, but you’ll need to include them in your project packet. 
• Be sure to answer the reflection questions in your packet as you complete each transformation. 

Showcase

A few days after students complete their projects, have a gallery walk day! Have students hang their finished products around the room and give them the opportunity to see their classmates work. This is always my favorite part! Students take ownership and pride in these projects and they should be given the opportunity to showcase their hard work!