Shape – Maths with Graham

Here is a great tool to show constructions on a computer or Interactive White Board.

A jigsaw to help revise perimeter and shapes.

Some students find it incredibly difficult to visualise nets being folded up into 3 dimensional shapes. The best way to gain confidence with this is having fun making lots of different shapes and I have already blogged about an excellent site for this where you can print off all sorts of nets and make some amazing shapes. With exams rapidly approaching you may not have time for that so here is a page from Nrich where you can watch 24 different nets being folded up to make 3d shapes. Before you press play each time try to work out what the shape will look like when it is folded, then see if you were right.

I was very impressed when I saw this. Why not have a go?

Make your own globe.

Do you know all the important words for shape? This is a simple matching game to help you. Each time you play you will get a different selection of words.

Shape Vocabulary

If you are studying GCSE you need to learn the names of all the parts of a circle. This should help!
Circle Vocabulary

Download a pdf worksheet here

Be systematic! What sort of numbers are important to help you solve this problem?

How many triangles are in this shape? (A Transum starter)

Download a pdf worksheet here.

When you are absolutely sure you have counted them all, click here and press the yellow button to see if you are right.

This cube has 6 faces, 8 vertices (corners) and 12 edges.

This square based pyramid has 5 faces, 5 vertices and 8 edges.

See how quickly you can do this quiz from Purpose Games. Click start, then the computer will give you a number for either F (faces), V (Vertices) or E (Edges). You just have to click on the letter next to the right shape.

Do you know your prisms from your pyramids? See how quickly you can do this quiz from Purpose Games. Click start, then click on the shape whose name appears at the top.

Inspirations
A mathematical masterpiece, imagining the workshop of M C Escher

Download, print and cut out the triangles. Work with a friend to try and match all the questions with the correct answers and make a shape

Area and Perimeter Level 2 Jigsaw

How many sqaures can you find in this diagram? Download a pdf worksheet here.

When I was a newly qualified teacher in the early 1980’s the latest trend in maths teaching was Logo. We used to get the students programming the BBC computers to make amazing patterns and shapes. We even used to have a little turtle robot that you could program to draw shapes on the floor! You can have a go at Logo here thanks to Transum.