3-D shapes (age 10+)
Recognise, describe, and build simple 3-D shapes, including making nets
What a learner can do afterwards
- Identify which net will fold into a given 3-D shape
- Construct the net of a triangular prism and fold it to verify
- Describe a 3-D shape by naming its faces, edges, and vertices
The lesson
You've already folded nets into 3-D shapes. This time, try it the other way around: look at the flat net first, and guess which shape it will become before you fold anything.
Zara looks at a net with two triangles and three rectangles attached in a row. She predicts it will fold into a triangular prism. She folds it, and she's right: the triangles become the two ends, and the rectangles wrap around to join them.
Before you fold a net, count its flat pieces. A cube's net needs six squares. A triangular prism's net needs two triangles and three rectangles. If the count matches, your guess is probably right.
A net is a flat plan you can predict before folding, and any 3-D shape can be described by its faces, edges, and vertices.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.