Polygons

So what exactly are these shapes?

They are ANY plane shape ie two dimensional shape (2d) that is a closed curve ie. has an inside and and outside, made up of three or more line segments. Each apex of the polygon, can only be shared by two line segments.

Other than the circle and oval, the shapes our children learn, even as pre-schoolers tend to be polygons.

They come in all shapes and sizes, but there are Regular Polygons that are easily recognizable. These are:

Triangles

Quadrilaterals

The +agons

Knowing the Geometry Facts relating to polygons is essential to your childs success in elementary geometry. They must know these shapes by sight. Knowing the facts about each polygon, and how they ‘fit together’ is essential.

For the ‘hands on learner’ especially, I recommend creating a set of Polygon Tiles. The use of Tangrams is especially useful for this. For the creative student, making pictoral stories is a fantastic tool!