Recognizing Shapes

Nia and Nico are playing “I Spy” in the park, except this isn't a regular park! This is Polygon Park, so the visitors, are a bit shapely. In order to know who Nico and Nia are describing, they will need to practice, "Recognizing Shapes." We recognize a two-dimensional, or flat, shape by the number of straight sides and angles it has. An angle is like the corner of a shape; it's the space where two lines meet. It's important to count the number of sides and angles on a shape to identify what type of shape it is. Certain shapes have qualities that must always be true. We use these qualities to determine its type. A triangle is a shape with three straight sides and three angles. A quadrilateral is a shape with four straight sides and four angles. You may have heard of different types of quadrilaterals, like squares and rectangles. A pentagon is a shape with five straight sides and five angles. They can come in different sizes. A hexagon is a shape with six straight sides and six angles. Just like pentagons, they can come in different sizes too. Now that Nico and Nia know how to recognize shapes, they are ready to play "I Spy"! "I spy with my little eye something that has five straight sides and five angles." First, Nico should find a shape and count its sides and angles. Does this shape have five straight sides and angles? One, two, three, four, five; it has five straight sides! One, two, three, four, five; it has five angles! "Nia, do you spy a pentagon?" "I do!" " Ok, it's my turn. I spy with my little eyes something that has six straight sides and six angles." Take a moment and try to picture which shape Nico described. "Do you spy a hexagon, Nico?" "I do!" Did you also say a hexagon? While Nia and Nico take turns guessing, let's remember! Today we learned about recognizing shapes. We identify a two-dimensional, or flat, shape by the number of straight sides and angles it has. It's important to count the number of straight sides and angles on a shape to identify its type. Here is a chart that describes the qualities of triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, and hexagons. "I spy, with my little eyes, something that has three angles and three sides." "Oh, that's easy, Nia. You spy a triangle!" "Nope." "Huh? What is it, then?" "It's YOU, Nico!" "How could that be me?!" "See! It's you!"