Sorting Shapes

In math, we have begun sorting 2-dimensional figures. We have found many different ways to sort: by colour, shape, size, number of sides, number of "corners" or vertices. We made an interesting observation when we counted the number of sides and the number of corners on each shape.

At home, you could have your child create all of the 2-D figures that he/she can using whatever building materials you have. (e.g., straws and plastercine, toothpicks and marshmallows, popsicle sticks and glue). Talk about how many sides each shape has and (for grade 2's) how many corners or vertices each shape has.

Some shapes to try: triangle, square, rectangle... some more for grade 2's: pentagon, hexagon, octagon, quadrilateral (any four-sided shape like a square, rhombus, trapezoid, etc.)