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Shape, problem-solving and handling data

Friday, 18 October 2013

I seem to have been doing a lot of 2D shape exploration recently, so here are two shape activities I’ll share with you for KS1 and KS2. They both use sorting diagrams – ideal for integrating data handling into a shape topic. 

KS1            Half shapes

Organisation: Pairs or small groups.

Resources: Each group has a large piece of paper (A1 - flip chart size) with 3 sections labeled 3 sides4 sides5 or more sides. They also have a selection of squares, rectangles, (sides between 5-10cm), and triangles (equilateral and isosceles –incl. right angled isosceles).

Each child chooses a shape, fold it in half and cut along the fold.

Can you make the shape again with the two pieces?

Can you make the shape again with the two pieces?


Draw round each new shape on coloured paper, cut it out and place it on the sorting chart. It is useful to have different coloured paper for each child so you know which shapes are made by each starting shape.

How many sides did the start shape have?

How many corners or vertices? What is the shape called?

Which new shapes did the two parts make? Look at one at a time.

How many sides? How many vertices?  What is the shape called?

Which shapes have more sides than the starting shape?

Did any have fewer sides?

half-shapes
3-part-shapes

KS2            Three parts of a shape

Organisation: Pairs or small groups.

Resources: Each group has a large piece of paper (A1 – flip chart size) with a Carroll diagram drawn on. You can label these to meet the expected outcomes for your year (eg symmetrical, not symmetrical, quadrilaterals, not quadrilaterals, regular polygon, not a regular polygon, right angle, no right angles)


Give each child two identical squares (sides between 5-10cm) one of which they cut along the diagonal fold.

Ask them arrange these 3 parts to make different shapes

Can you make a right angled- triangle? A rectangle?

Can you make a trapezium? A parallelogram?

Draw round each new shape paper, cut it out and place it on the Carroll diagram

How many other shapes can you make?3 part shapes 300x221 Shape, problem solving and handling data

How many sides? How many vertices? 

What is each shape called? Which are irregular?

Which have no right angles? Which have obtuse angles?

As a challenge ask pupils only use the full square and cut this along a line from the halfway point on one side of the square  to an opposite corner.

Ask them to arrange these two pieces to make different shapes and record each shape by drawing around it and writing a description: number of sides, lengths and position of sides (2 parallel sides, pairs of sides the same length….), number of vertices, types of angles…

Give a rule that only sides that are the same length can be joined together.

How many shapes can you make now?

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