Classroom Activities

The Geometer's Sketchpad® is used in classrooms at all levels of the mathematics curriculum. This page gathers information about field-tested classroom activities (including teacher notes, student worksheets, and/or Sketchpad documents), all ready for immediate classroom use. Some of the activities are available in print, some are available free for download, and some are available through third-party links. Unless otherwise noted, all activities are designed for use with Sketchpad™ version 4.

The activities are arranged here by topic:

Activity Books from Key Curriculum Press

These add-on curriculum modules are sold by Key Curriculum Press. Each book contains blackline masters of activities and investigations, and includes teacher notes and a CD (Mac/Win) of sketches referenced in the book.



 Exploring Geometry with The Geometer's Sketchpad

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This most popular add-on curriculum module contains blackline activity masters designed for high school geometry students. It guides students as they construct and manipulate geometric figures and discover relationships and theorems. Chapters include:
  • Lines and Angles
  • Transformations, Symmetry, and Tessellations
  • Triangles
  • Quadrilaterals
  • Polygons
  • Circles
  • Area
  • The Pythagorean Theorem
  • Similarity
  • Trigonometry and Fractals
    £26 and free UK delivery from Chartwell-Yorke.


Exploring Algebra with The Geometer's Sketchpad

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Blackline activity masters, designed for Algebra I/II students, help students bridge the concrete world of arithmetic with the abstract world of algebra. Includes chapters on
  • The Fundamentals of Algebra
  • Slope and Lines
  • Parabolas and Quadratic Equations
  • Functions
  • Transformations and Vectors
  • £26 and free UK delivery from Chartwell-Yorke.


Exploring Algebra 1 with The Geometer's Sketchpad

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Blackline activity masters, designed specifically for Algebra 1 students. Includes updated activities from Exploring Algebra as well as many new activities, arranged into chapters on
  • Fundamental Operations
  • Ratios and Exponents
  • Algebraic Expressions
  • Solving Equations and Inequalities
  • Coordinates, Slope, and Distance
  • Variation and Linear Equations
  • Quadratic Equations


Exploring Precalculus with The Geometer's Sketchpad

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Our newest curriculum module provides blackline activity masters for covering the fundamental topics in any precalculus course. Includes demonstration sketches and bonus activities as well as chapters on
    • Function Transformations
    • Circular Functions
    • Trigonometric Properties
    • Other Functions
    • Data and Probability
    • Vectors and Matrices
    • Polar Coordinates and Complex Numbers
    • Sequences and Series
    • Introduction to Calculus
      £26 and free UK delivery from Chartwell-Yorke.


Exploring Calculus with The Geometer's Sketchpad

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These blackline activity masters for calculus students cover the fundamental concepts in any first-year calculus course, whether general, AP, or college. The book contains chapters on
  • Exploring Change
  • Exploring Limits
  • Exploring Derivatives
  • Exploring Antiderivatives
  • Exploring Integrals
    £26 and free UK delivery from Chartwell-Yorke.
Shape Makers: Developing Geometric Reasoning in Middle School with The Geometer's Sketchpad

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Shape Makers is built around a single microworld, with a series of explorations in which students develop dynamic mental models for thinking about geometric shapes and their properties. The blackline activity masters are designed for middle school students, with
  • Six chapters of quadrilateral explorations
  • Five chapters of triangle explorations
  • A chapter of extensions to previously explored work
    £26 and free UK delivery from Chartwell-Yorke.


Geometry Activities for Middle School Students with The Geometer's Sketchpad

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Blackline activity masters designed for middle school students allow students to explore concepts of symmetry, transformations, and fractal geometry. Includes units on
  • Tours of Sketchpad
  • Points, Lines, and Angles
  • Triangles
  • Quadrilaterals
  • Symmetry
  • Transformations
  • Constructions £26 and free UK delivery from Chartwell-Yorke.


Geometry in Action: A Discovery Approach Using The Geometer's Sketchpad

This curriculum module is written for college students, and conforms to college-geometry tables of contents. Through the intuitive lens of Sketchpad, it covers high school and undergraduate geometry topics, from basic circle and triangle geometry through non-Euclidean topics.
£26 and free UK delivery from Chartwell-Yorke.


Exploring Conic Sections with The Geometer's Sketchpad

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Students build their own physical models of conic sections, then construct more flexible models with Sketchpad. Includes blackline activity masters, with chapters on
  • Ellipses
  • Parabolas
  • Hyperbolas
  • Optimization
  • £17 and free UK delivery from Chartwell-Yorke.


Pythagoras Plugged In: Proofs and Problems for The Geometer's Sketchpad

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Blackline activity masters guide students through a variety of proofs and applications of the Pythagorean Theorem. Includes chapters on
  • The Theorem
  • Proofs and Demonstrations
  • Special Cases and Variations
  • Additional problems
    £26 and free UK delivery from Chartwell-Yorke.


Rethinking Proof with The Geometer's Sketchpad

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Engages students in proving conjectures and using Dynamic Geometry to think about proof in a variety of contexts. Includes blackline activity masters, with chapters on
  • The Role of Proof
  • Proof as Explanation
  • Proof as Discovery
  • Proof as Verification
  • Proof as Challenge
  • Proof as Systematisation
    £26 and free UK delivery from Chartwell-Yorke.

Classroom Activities and Resources from KCP Technologies

These classroom-ready activities have been developed by members of Key Curriculum Press, KCP Technologies, and their research advisors. They are available here for download, and you may freely duplicate them for use in your own classes.



 Sketchpad for Grades 3-5 (downloadable activities)
This collection of activities for grades 3-5 offers examples of the ways in which Sketchpad can be used across the range of mathematical subject areas in the elementary curriculum.


Sketchpad for Connected Mathematics Project Years 6 and 7 (downloadable activities)
Field-tested and classroom-ready activities from specific investigations of the CMP6 and CMP7 modules, including sketches, student handouts, and teacher notes.


The First Week of Calculus (downloadable activities)
Five activities suitable for introducing the main topics of a calculus course.

These additional classroom resources have also been developed by members of Key Curriculum Press, KCP Technologies, and their research advisors. These sketches do not contain student worksheets or teacher activity notes, but you may find them valuable resources on which to base classroom activities.



 Dynamic Mathematics Visualization for Young Learners: Sketchpad in Grades 3-8 (downloadable sketches)
Sketches and handouts from a working conference for researchers, curriculum developers, and educators, sponsored by KCP Technologies in February 2003 (with support from the National Science Foundation under grant ESI 02-43196).


101 Project Ideas (downloadable sketches)
Exciting projects and fun brain teasers, covering topics such as art/animation, triangles, real-world modeling, calculus, transformation and tesselations, trigonometry, fractals, and more.

Links to Other Classroom Activities

Classroom-ready activities developed by members of the larger Sketchpad community.

 ©2005 KCP Technologies. All rights reserved.