Intermediate
40 mins
Teacher/Student led
+65 XP
Teacher-led from the board. Pupils do not need a device, but can follow on one.

Shape Detectives, Module Review

You act as shape detectives solving riddles to name flat and solid shapes from clues about sides, corners and footprints. You sort shapes, practise half turns and write your own clues.

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    Spin the wheel maths

    1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

    Illustration for Getting StartedDetectives, look at this mystery envelope. There are three riddle cards inside it, waiting for you to solve them.

    Note

    Before we open them: a footprint is the flat shape a solid leaves when you press one of its faces in paint.

    Riddle one: I have 3 straight sides. Riddle two: I roll anywhere and leave no footprint. Riddle three: I am the move that makes a shape face the other way.

    Hands up, detectives: name us!

    2 - Watch and Notice ~8 mins

    First job: look at the shape on the board and count its sides. Are all four sides the same? Then name the shape.

    Next job: six small triangles can join to make one bigger shape. Name that bigger shape when you see it.

    Last job: watch a real triangle card. It points up. After a half turn it points down. It is still the same triangle. That spin halfway round is a half turn.

    3 - Try It Together ~9 mins

    A cube presses a square face and prints a square. A cylinder prints a circle. A sphere has no flat face, so it leaves no print.

    Now we sort a mixed pile: flat shapes go to their name, solids go to the footprint they print.

    Cards waiting: square, triangle, circle, cube, cylinder, sphere.

    Key point

    Say the home aloud before each card lands: Square, Triangle, Circle, Prints a square, Prints a circle, or No print.

    Send each shape home

    4 - Write a Shape Clue in Your Copy ~5 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    Watch the board first. Here is one model clue: I have 3 straight sides and 3 corners. What am I? That clue names a triangle.

    In your maths copy, write one clue about your favourite shape for the class to guess. You can start with: I have …

    5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

    Spin the wheel to pick a riddle, then name the answer. Keep spinning until we have solved all four.

    1. Name the shape with 4 equal sides.
    2. Name the solid that prints a circle.
    3. Name the move that makes a shape point the other way up.
    4. Name the shape six triangles make when they join.

    Which clue gave each one away?

    Shape detective riddles

    Pupil practice
    Module 6 · Shape and Space: 2D, 3D, Position and Turns Shape & Space
    Lesson 72 · Shape Detectives, Module Review
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