An exercise in finding the area of polygons by decomposing into triangles and composing into rectangles is the focus of this resource. Make several copies of the worksheet for each participant. Ask learners to use colored pencils to...

Third graders are exposed to finding the area of polygons by decomposing figures and recomposing them into rectangles. This strategy allows children to expand on their prior knowledge of constructing shapes by rearranging parts into...

How can learners use algebra to solve a geometry problem? Help learners create an equation that shows the relationship between the number of sides of a polygon and the sum of the interior angles. Students are asked to divide the...

Learners follow a series of instructions for drawing and coloring different shapes in order to learn the difference between the perimeter and area of a polygon. Then they are asked to find the perimeter and area of a 3x4 rectangular...

Four polygons each have a fraction with unlike denominators printed on them. Creative math minds select several shapes to create a design with and then write and solve a math problem involving the addition of all of the fractions...

Investigate the attributes of polygons. A thorough set of lessons presents problem scenarios for elementary through high school classes. The first lessons focus on basic characteristics of polygons, including the line of symmetry. As the...

Math can be a work of art! Reach your artistic pupils as they explore angle measures. A creative set of five problems of varying levels has young learners study interior and exterior angle measures of polygons. The introductory levels...

Investigate polygons from rectangles to triangles to octagons. Each level of the five-problem series targets a different grade level. Beginning with the level A problem, learners examine the relationship between area and perimeter by...

Explore linear and square dimensions by comparing areas of similar figures. A creative set of five activities designed for elementary through high school classes asks young scholars to compare areas of specific polygons. The first two...

Try five problems on triangles. Levels A and B focus on shapes that can be created from right triangles. Level C touches upon the relationship between the area of a six-pointed star and the area of each triangle of which it is composed....

This collaborative activity investigates the meaning of a trapezoid and a parallelogram. It begins by presenting two different definitions of a trapezoid. Learners are to reason abstractly the difference between the two definitions and...

It's amazing the complex figures that can be made using only a few simple shapes. Following a class reading of the children's book Grandfather Tang's Story by Ann Tompert, young mathematicians use sets of tangrams to create models...

All shapes have certain defining attributes that set them apart from others. In order to understand this, young mathematicians look at examples and non-examples of triangles, rectangles, and squares, working as a whole class to create...

Here is a straightforward example of how to apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find an unknown side-length of a trapezoid. Commentary gives additional information on proving that the inside of the trapezoid is a rectangle, but is...

Score some problems all related to soccer balls. The first few problems focus on pattern blocks to see relationships between figures. More advanced problems focus on actual soccer balls, the patterns on the balls, and their volumes and...

Teach the ins and outs of the cube! A series of five K–12 level activities explore the make-up of the cube. The beginning lessons focus on the vocabulary related to the cube. Later lessons explore the possible nets that describe a cube....

Discover different dimensions with paper folding. Pupils first read about zero, one, two, and three dimensions, and then learn about the fourth dimension, time. They then use origami to create models of shapes in three dimensions and use...

Explore the mathematics of the paper snowflake! During the five lessons progressing in complexity from K through 12, pupils use spatial geometry to make predictions. Scholars consider a folded piece of paper with shapes cut out....

Use the alphabet as a tool for teaching your class about geometric figures. Break apart capital letters into line segments and arcs. Classify angles as right, acute, or obtuse. Identify parallel and perpendicular lines. An excellent...

Did you know that two-dimensional shapes are also called polygons? This lesson describes the various 2-D shapes and includes two interactive games to reinforce skills.