Tape City Facilitation Guide
Tape City
Teacher Facilitation Guide
GRADE 3 • GEOMETRY
Learning Objective
Students will identify and create parallel and perpendicular lines within a physical model, connecting geometric concepts to the built environment.
Materials Needed
- Colored Masking Tape (2-3 colors per group)
- Sticky Notes & Markers
- Student Blueprint Logs
- Rulers or Straight Edges
Lesson Timeline
5 MIN
Line Dancing (Warm-up)
Students stand at desks. Call out line types: "Parallel!" (arms straight up side-by-side), "Perpendicular!" (arms crossed at a T-shape), "Intersecting!" (arms crossed like an X).
5 MIN
Visual Anchor (Video)
Watch "What are Lines and Angles?". Use the following pause points:
- 0:17: Pause. Ask: "Can we draw a line that never meets?" (Parallel)
- 0:54: Pause. Ask: "Where do we see these 90° 'crashes' in the room?"
- 1:15: Pause. Discuss how tilting the line changes it from perpendicular to acute/obtuse.
20 MIN
Tape City Construction
In groups, students use tape to create a city grid on their desk or floor space.
- Primary Roads must be parallel.
- Cross-Streets must be perpendicular.
- Label intersections with sticky notes.
10 MIN
Gallery Walk & Closure
Groups rotate to inspect other cities. They must find one set of parallel lines and one set of perpendicular lines to "ticket" with a smiley face sticky note.
Facilitation & Discussion Tips
Key Discussion Questions
"Why are parallel lines important for trains?"
Expected: To keep the wheels on the track. If they met, the train would crash!
"Why do we use perpendicular lines for the walls of our house?"
Expected: To make them strong and straight. If they were tilted, the roof might fall off.
Management Strategies
- Tape Management: Give each group pre-cut strips if fine motor skills are a struggle, or provide "tape dispensers" to each table leader.
- Role Assignment: Assign roles: Lead Engineer (checks angles), Chief Planner (decides road placement), and Label Specialist (sticky notes).
Differentiation
Scaffolding (Support)
Provide a "City Template" on paper that students can tape directly over. Use color-coded tape (Blue for parallel, Red for perpendicular).
Extension (Challenge)
Ask students to create a "Cemetery Road" or "Diagonal Drive" that is intersecting but NOT perpendicular. Can they name the angles (acute/obtuse) it creates?
Check for Understanding
During the activity, walk around and ask:
"Show me two roads that will NEVER touch. How do you know?"
Tape City Geometry Lesson • Facilitation Guide • Grade 3
Tape City Slides
Geometry Project
TAPE CITY
ARCHITECTS
Building the future with parallel and perpendicular lines.
Warm-Up: Line Dancing
Parallel
Arms straight up!
Never touching.
Perpendicular
Make a T-Shape!
Perfect corners.
Intersecting
Cross like an X!
Lines that crash.
Geometry Launch
Watch & Discuss
Embedded media
Watch from 0:00 to 0:54
STOP AT 0:17
Can we find lines that never meet? What are they called?
STOP AT 0:54
Look around! Where are the perpendicular lines in this room?
PARALLEL
Lines that stay the same distance apart forever.
They NEVER cross or touch.
Example
Train Tracks
Example
Piano Keys
PERPEN-
DICULAR
Lines that cross at exactly 90 degrees.
They form a perfect "square corner."
Example
Crossroads
Example
Window Frames
MISSION
BUILD TAPE CITY
1
Create 2 Main Roads that are PARALLEL.
2
Create 2 Side Streets that are PERPENDICULAR to the roads.
3
Label your city parts with Sticky Notes.
Architect Challenge!
Can you add a park with 4 right angles?
Tape Sticky Notes Markers
20:00
CITY INSPECTION
Walk through our new neighborhood. Use your eyes to find geometry in the wild!
The Scan
Point out 1 set of parallel roads in another group's city.
The Stamp
Found a perfect perpendicular intersection? Give them a "Thumbs Up" sticky note!
City Blueprint Log
City Architect Log
Tape City Design & Inspection
Engineer:
Date:
Design Checklist
Did your city include...
2 Parallel Roads
2 Perpendicular Streets
Labeled Buildings
Bonus: A 90° Park
Gallery Inspection
Found at another group's city:
Parallel Example:
Perpendicular Example:
City Blueprint Sketch
Draw a bird's-eye view (top-down) sketch of your tape city below. Use a ruler!
My Parallel Roads are...
My Perpendicular Streets are...
"Geometry is the foundation of all architecture."
