Lesson Two — Building Paper Platonic Solids

This is an animated GIF banner of spinning shapes.

Prep

Print out the patterns for triangles, squares, and pentagons.
Photocopy them onto colored card stock.
Score fold lines with a straightedge and a compass point or a dead ballpoint pen.
Cut out the shapes.
Using the video as a guide, build each Platonic solid. Experiment with different types of glue or use a stapler until you have a technique that works. You can either hide the tabs on the interior or have them on the outsides. You may want to trim the corners of the tabs for the tetrahedron.
You will also be learning to use the scene menus and the slow-motion and pause buttons to control the video views.
Once you have built all five solids, decide how much prep work you want to do and how much the students will do in terms of scoring and cutting out the shapes.
Note: If you find the paper shapes too difficult to use, you can substitute plastic snap-together pieces such as Polydron (see reference on Links page).

Procedure

Display your paper Platonic solids for the students to see.
Provide students with construction materials.
Slowly advance through scenes from the video as you guide students through the construction of their own Platonic solids.