Recognise and draw shapes having specified attributes (e.g. a given number of angles or equal faces); identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes
You already know a triangle has 3 straight sides and 3 corners. Those corners have another name: angles. Every straight-sided shape works the same way. The number of angles always matches the number of sides. A shape with 4 sides is a quadrilateral. A shape with 5 sides is a pentagon. A shape with 6 sides is a hexagon.
To draw a shape with a given number of sides, start by marking dots for the corners. Mark 5 dots and join them with straight lines to get a pentagon. Mark 6 dots for a hexagon. Close the shape so there are no gaps, then count: the number of angles always matches the number of sides.
Zara sorts a pile of shapes. She picks up a square, a rectangle, and a kite. All three have 4 straight sides, so all three are quadrilaterals, even though they look different.
The matching rule is for flat shapes with straight sides. A cube is not flat. It is a solid you can hold, with 6 flat faces that are all the same size. So on a flat shape count the sides, and on a solid like a cube count the faces.
Sides and angles match: 4 sides make a quadrilateral, 5 make a pentagon, 6 make a hexagon.
Mia showed you that her tiny triangle and her huge triangle are both triangles, because each one has 3 straight sides and 3 corners. Now Zara is sorting the pile of shape tiles for the new playground corner.
Zara picks up a tile with 3 straight sides. Before she looks at the corners, how many angles does it have?
This opens up
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.