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Section 9
Track #9: Geometric Puzzle

Table of Contents | NCCAP/NCTRC CE Booklet

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Transcript of Track #9

Sometimes Caps in a Bowl, the Bank Exercise, Colored Sorting and Color Pattern Cards are not difficult enough to provide your resident with the feeling of success that we are after. The geometric puzzle is constructed by cutting 6 by 8 inch square pieces of corrugated cardboard and gluing construction paper to them. After the construction paper has been glued to your corrugated cardboard rectangle, you glue various geometric designs made from contrasting colors or construction paper into the center of your card.

Geometric Puzzle Exercise
For example, I have a geometric puzzle that has a yellow background with a square in the middle of it. That square is green on one half and black on the other. For the puzzle pieces, the resident takes a corresponding green rectangle and puts it over the green half of the square. And the black rectangle and puts it over the black half of the square.

I have another geometric puzzle that has an orange background with a green circle with a yellow pie shape wedge shape. Corresponding circle and pie wedge shapes are cut out of the cardboard. Green and yellow construction paper is glued to them. A layer of clear contact paper might be added to provide a more durable finish.

Another design in my geometric puzzle set is an orange background with a green right triangle. The orange background with the green right triangle is probably the easiest geometric puzzle because the resident just takes the one corresponding piece that you’ve made and places it over the triangle.

Another geometric puzzle I have is a circle that is divided in half. One half is yellow and one half is orange. The yellow and orange circle is placed on a black background. The color contrast with the background makes the geometric puzzle easy for residents that have visual problems.

The most difficult geometric puzzle I have is the one with the yellow background with three right triangles. One right triangle is orange, the second is black, and the third is green. I then have three corresponding right triangle pieces that the resident places over the three corresponding right triangle shapes on the geometric puzzle card.

So similar to color pattern cards where you place the red gallon milk bottle cap over the red dot, this is an adaptation a difficulty level higher on the difficulty scale. The geometric puzzle is meant to be more complicated because the resident is placing pieces of corrugated cardboard over the corresponding geometric shapes.

Thus by doing this activity you are asking your resident to combine two skills.
1. First they need the skill found in color sorting to match the corresponding colors.
2. Second, unlike color pattern cards in which the directional placement of a circular cap does not make a difference, in the geometric puzzle the resident needs to be able to manipulate the puzzle pieces to correctly match the direction of the background form.

A way to motivate the resident to do the geometric puzzle is by saying “I have a game for you. Would you like to play a game today?” a sample care plan goal would be to do a geometric puzzle with one geometric shape or to adapt the activity to be more difficult, the care plan goal would be to do a geometric puzzle with three or four geometric shapes.

An approach with the resident with a visual problem would be to provide a geometric puzzle with a black or dark background and a light foreground for geometric pieces. Some may find that geometric puzzle too hard, so you may try shape sorting. This will be described on the next track.

Question 9: What two skills must the resident possess in order to successfully complete a geometric puzzle?

NCCAP/NCTRC CE Booklet
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Table of Contents

Note-Taking Exercise
Geometric Puzzle

What makes the Geometric Puzzle more advanced in difficulty than Color Sorting?

What are two sample Goals for the Geometric Puzzle?
1.

2.

.

Residents with whom to try a Geometric Puzzle

Culture Change Implementation: Place Geometric Puzzle in an Activity Project Bag left in resident’s room for CNA, volunteer, etc. use.