Shapes and where things are
Maths · Key Stage 1 · The School
Flat and solid
2-D shapes are flat: circle, triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon. 3-D shapes are solid: cube, cuboid, sphere, cylinder, cone, pyramid. A square is flat and a cube is solid, and a cube's faces are squares — noticing that link is more useful than learning the two lists separately.
Describing a shape
Name a shape by what is TRUE of it, not by how it looks. A triangle has three straight sides and three corners, whatever way up it is and however stretched. A shape is not "not a triangle" because it is upside down. For solids, count FACES, EDGES and VERTICES — a cube has 6, 12 and 8.
Where things are
Position words: on, under, above, below, between, next to, in front of, behind. Direction and turning: forwards, backwards, left, right, and turns described as a QUARTER, HALF, THREE-QUARTER or WHOLE turn, clockwise or anticlockwise. These are the words a program or a map needs, so they matter beyond this lesson.
Sit back to back with a partner and describe a shape without naming it. "It has four straight sides. All four sides are the same length. All four corners are right angles." Your partner draws a square, and gets it right whichever way up they draw it — because every statement was about a PROPERTY. Now try "it looks like a diamond" and see how many different shapes come back. Properties travel; appearances do not.