Math lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 45 minutes
Turns and compass directions
Geometry
England: Y3 Geometry
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Turns and compass directions.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Compare angles with a right angle
Leads to: Angles as fractions of a full turn
Materials: Rulers and protractors, Squared or dotted paper, Shape cut-outs, Mini whiteboards and pens, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Compare angles with a right angle). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- How many right angles does an equilateral triangle have? → 0Prompt: A right angle is a square corner.
- How many right angles make a quarter turn? → 1Prompt: A quarter turn is one right angle.
- How many right angles make a half turn? → 2Prompt: A quarter turn is one right angle.
Hook · 5 min
- Show a photo of a building, a tile pattern or a road sign and ask what shapes and angles students can spot.
- Share the objective: Turns and compass directions. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 10 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Lucia faces West and makes a three-quarter turn anticlockwise. Which direction is Lucia facing now?
- Step 1: North
- Answer: North
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 10 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Grace faces East and makes a quarter turn clockwise. Which direction is Grace facing now? (North / East / South / West) → SouthPrompt: Clockwise goes North → East → South → West.
- How many degrees is a full turn? → 360Prompt: A full turn is 360°.
You do: independent practice · 10 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 5 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- How many degrees is a full turn? → 360Prompt: A full turn is 360°.
- Kwame faces South and makes a quarter turn anticlockwise. Which direction is Kwame facing now? (North / East / South / West) → EastPrompt: Clockwise goes North → East → South → West.
Watch out for
- Thinking a square turned on its corner is no longer a square.
- Reading the wrong scale on a protractor.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Compare angles with a right angle.
- Use concrete materials: rulers and protractors.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Angles as fractions of a full turn.
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/math/grade-3.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder