With older children, encourage them to notice that while each shape group has a key feature in common, each individual shape is different for example while every triangle must have 3 sides, they also can have different size angles and sides. Look out for 2-D shapes on posters, road signs, billboards, wallpaper and in picture books. Again, be careful that you affirm with your child that it is the surface or face of, for example, the door, that is a rectangle, not the entire door (which is in fact another cuboid i.e. Shape hunts: Play games like “I spy, with my little eye, something the shape of a rectangle” etc.Practical Suggestions for Supporting Children This is preparing them for the type of geometry they will meet in second-level maths. They will also be asked to solve various problems (for example finding the measure of an unknown angle or side) based on what they know already. They will learn more detailed terminology about the parts of shapes, especially the parts of a circle. So, if exploring 2-D shapes, draw the children’s attention to properties such as the number and type of sides (equal, not equal, straight or curved), the number and type of angles/vertices (equal, not equal, right angles or not).Ĭhildren in the senior end of primary school will further classify shapes into named groups, for example, they will identify different types of triangles, polygons (any shape with straight, non-curved sides) and quadrilaterals (four sided shapes, quad = four) and explore the different properties (size/shape of angles, length of sides) that make each one unique. Through an understanding of what makes a shape that shape, the children can start to group shapes with similar properties or characteristics together. A shape with three straight sides and three angles (also referred to as corners or vertices) is always a triangle…but as the children get older they will also realise that some triangles have three equal sides (equilateral), some triangles have only two equal sides (isosceles) and some have no equal sides (scalene). Properties of Shapes: 2-D shapes also have properties or characteristics that make them different from other 2-D shapes. So, if looking for 2-D shapes at home, ask the children to examine the flat surface of objects and/or to look at the flat shapes in a picture book or magazine. 2-D shapes can be a bit confusing for both adults and children for example, a real ball is not a 2-D shape, it is a 3-D object called a sphere, but if a ball is drawn, or shown in a picture, then the flat representation of the ball in the image is now a circle! And a box is not a 2-D shape, it is a 3-D object called a cuboid, but the flat surface of a box is usually the 2-D shape of a rectangle or sometimes a square. Also called flat shapes, these include circles, squares, rectangles, triangles etc. shapes with length and width, but not depth/height. Naming shapes: 2-D shapes is short for two dimensional shapes, i.e. This skill will also transfer to other signs and symbols, be they maths symbols such as +, =, etc., or signs and symbols in the real world e.g. Why do children need to learn about shapes? Learning to recognise different shapes not only helps children learn about this maths topic, but, in the early years, it also develops their ability to recognise numbers and letters by their shape.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |