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2D Shapes
Objectives
To describe and recognise regular and irregular 2D shapes.
Resources
Abacus Workbook 1 | 📄 Example 2D shapes | 📄 Symmetry answers | Coloured pencil crayon (any colour) | Art straws or matchsticks | Small mirror with straight sides
Vocabulary
shapes | sides | symmetrical | line of symmetry | square | rectangle / oblong | triangle | pentagon | hexagon | heptagon | octagon
Today's Lesson
Introduction
Access 📄 Example 2D shapes and look at the shapes with your student.
Ask: ‘What is the same about these shapes? And what is different about them?’
Discuss that they all have straight sides, but different numbers of sides.
Circle the 5-sided shapes without saying anything (the 2nd and 5th shapes in the row).
Ask, ‘What is the same about the shapes that I have circled? See if you can have a think and tell me.’
Encourage them to count the number of sides if they haven’t already done so.
Then point out that they each have 5 sides and are called pentagons. Explain that the prefix ‘pent-’ means 5 (it comes from the Greek word ‘penta’).
Now ask your student to circle the shapes with 6 sides (these are the 1st and 3rd shapes.) Tell them that these are hexagons, and that the prefix ‘hex-’ means 6.
Ask: ‘What do you notice about the remaining shape? It has 8 straight sides – shapes with 8 sides are called octagons.’
Explain that the prefix ‘oct-’ means 8. Ask if there is another word that they know beginning with ‘oct-’ and talk about how octopuses have 8 legs.
Now, colour the shapes with line symmetry shapes (the 2nd, 3rd and 4th shapes) and do not colour the non-symmetrical shapes.
Ask: ‘Why have I only coloured these shapes? What do they have in common?’
Ask your student to talk through their ideas with you.
Remind your student about symmetry, then draw a line of symmetry on the 2nd shape and invite your student to draw lines of symmetry on the 3rd and 4th shapes. If we put a mirror on these lines, we would see the other half of the shape (see 📄 Symmetry answers).
Main Activity
Show your student the art straws or matchsticks and ask them to make shapes with them. For example, they could lay the straws or matchsticks out to make a 4-sided shape.
Challenge your student to make the shape a square and then a rectangle (the straws or matchsticks can overlap each other).
Ask your student to try to make a triangle followed by a different type of triangle (the straws or matchsticks can overlap each other).
Ask your student then to sketch the shapes they have made and to label them noting the number of straws or matchsticks needed to make each shape.
Challenge your student to make shapes using different numbers of straws or matchsticks (up to and including eight), and to name them.
Support
Adult reference for shape properties:
- 3-sided shape = triangle
- 3-sided shape; all sides equal = equilateral triangle
- 3-sided shape; two sides equal = isosceles triangle
- 3-sided shape; two sides meet at a right angle = right-angled triangle
- 3-sided shape; no sides equal = scalene triangle
- 4-sided shape; all sides equal = square
- 4-sided shape; opposite sides equal = rectangle / oblong
- 5-sided shape = pentagon
- 6-sided shape = hexagon
- 7-sided shape = heptagon
- 8-sided shape = octagon
Workbook
To help your student consolidate their learning from today, please ask them to complete the activities on pages 20 and 21 of Abacus Workbook 1.