Quadrilateral City Is A Geometry Project That Sparks Your Students’ Excitement for Learning

Project based learning can help you transform your 3rd grade geometry unit into the most memorable math unit of the school year. Your students are going to love applying their knowledge about the characteristics of quadrilaterals as they complete the project Quadrilateral City! 

Rather than spending time on worksheet after worksheet trying to memorize the properties of quadrilaterals (only to forget them soon after) your students can be fully-immersed in a geometry simulation that really brings their learning to life and helps those polygon characteristics stick for good!

This resource is perfect for third grade classrooms, but can also be used as enrichment for second grade learners. 

Let’s take a closer look at this geometry project based learning resource. 

Project Overview

During this project based learning unit, your students will be invited to create a new layout for Quadrilateral City’s town square. Quadrilateral City is a place where everything from buildings and roads to houses and parks is built using only quadrilaterals. 

The citizens recently passed a bond to fund the renovation of their town square and your students can work to be hired as the lead architect for the redesign project! The most important detail: students must include at least one of each quadrilateral type in the design for the center of their town.

This project based learning unit requires the application of students’ knowledge of the properties of quadrilaterals and goes beyond simple recall and recognition of quadrilaterals.

Throughout the process of the Quadrilateral City simulation, students will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge through creative design as they plan their town square, descriptive writing that incorporates their math knowledge, and communication skills as they present their design at the town hall meeting. 

Math Skills Students Will Practice During This Geometry Project

The main focus of this cross-curricular project is on third grade geometry standards. Throughout the project, students will practice recognizing and drawing quadrilaterals according to their specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given number of sides.

In addition to these important math skills, students will also practice their descriptive writing as they feature each quadrilateral-shaped building or space in their Guide to Town Square.

Students will use their persuasive writing skills to convince the townspeople of Quadrilateral City to select their design and use their public speaking skills to present their design at the optional town hall meeting that culminates this project. 

Quadrilateral City Project Steps

Here are the steps your students will take as they prepare to present their town square design for Quadrilateral City:

★ Draw and label a map showing their town square design using the map design checklist. During this step, students will have hands-on experience drawing quadrilaterals and using them in unique ways to design buildings, parks, roads, and public spaces.

★ Create a guidebook explaining the important features and shapes included in their design. The pages of their guidebooks will be filled with pictures of the quadrilaterals they have designed along with expository descriptions of each space’s use and the unique properties associated with the quadrilateral used to design each space.

★ Write a speech to help present their design at the Quadrilateral City Town Hall Meeting. In this speech, students will introduce their design, verbally address the needs of the townspeople of Quadrilateral City, highlight the most important features of the redesign, and paint a brief narrative picture of what life in the new town square will be like.

★ Complete a self-assessment using a three-part rubric. Each of the three project deliverables described above has its own rubric so students can participate in a very specific and fair assessment process as they demonstrate their learning.

Saving You Time & Making Differentiation Possible 

Want to incorporate a project into your geometry unit, but crunched for instructional time?

This resource makes prepping for project based learning a breeze and makes implementation seamless. The detailed visual instructions on each page of the guide make it possible for students to complete their unique projects with maximum independence so you have the time you need to teach or reteach important geometry skills to small groups while the rest of your class is plugging away on their project. 

When using the included rubric, scoring and providing students with feedback is also a breeze. Each of the three project phases: map design, guidebook creation, and speech writing have its own rubric so students can participate in the assessment process as they demonstrate learning, and you can provide them with specific feedback about their work.

Ideas for Using This Geometry Project Based Learning Guide 

Every step of the Quadrilateral City experience is outlined in a project guide that includes clear visuals and step-by-step instructions. Rubrics and reflection prompts will encourage your students to reach their learning goals. 

The format of this math simulation guide makes it an ideal resource for:

★ At your seat & hands-on enrichment during math workshop or guided math

★ Math center work

★ Digital learning (a Google Slides version of the entire project is included) 

★ Parent volunteer or teacher’s aide enrichment station

★ A focal point for a geometry room transformation 

★ An alternative assessment that allows you to measure student understanding on a deeper level as a culmination to your geometry unit.  

Bring This Geometry Project to Your Classroom

Whether you’re looking to bring a little life to your geometry unit, searching for an activity that provides enrichment to your high flyers while you teach small groups, or you just want a fun way to switch up your math routine while you teach geometry, you and your students will love Quadrilateral City! 

Visit the Quadrilateral City resource page to watch our video preview so you can see more of this fun math project. 

If you have any questions about Quadrilateral City, let me know in the comments below.