Shapes all around
Maths · Early Years · The School
The four friends
A circle is perfectly round with no corners. A triangle has 3 straight sides and 3 corners. A square has 4 equal sides and 4 corners. A rectangle has 4 sides too, but two long and two short. Say each name while drawing the shape in the air with your finger.
Sides and corners
Shapes are described by counting their sides (the straight edges) and corners (where two sides meet). Trace a triangle with your finger and count: side, side, side — three! Corner, corner, corner — three! Counting sides and corners is how mathematicians tell shapes apart, and now it is how you do it too.
Shape hunting
Your house is full of shapes wearing disguises. A plate is a circle. A window is often a rectangle. A samosa is a triangle! Find two circles, two rectangles and one triangle before bedtime. Which shape is the hardest to find? (Most people say the triangle.)
Here is a shape with three straight sides. Is it a triangle? Count the sides with your finger: one, two, three. Count the corners: one, two, three. Three sides and three corners, so yes — a triangle. Now turn it upside down and count again. Still three and three, so it is still a triangle even though it looks different. Do the same check on a square: four sides, four corners, and all four sides the same length.