Download Made-to-Order Polygons

Under Construction
Build your students’ knowledge of regular polygons
with this constructive geometry lesson!
Purpose: To identify regular polygons
Students will do the following:
• Identify regular polygons
• Color-code regular polygons hidden in a picture
Materials for each student:
• copy of page 4
• one crayon each of the following colors: yellow,
green, blue, orange, red, purple
Vocabulary to review:
• regular polygon
• triangle, square, pentagon, hexagon,
octagon, decagon
Extension activities to use after the reproducible:
• Use the following cooperative group activity to further extend your students’ experiences with regular polygons.
Divide your students into groups of four. Give each group ten 12-inch lengths of string. Next call out the name
of a regular polygon. Instruct each group to use its lengths of string to create the specified polygon. Inform your
students that each side of the polygon consists of one 12-inch length of string. For example, three strings will
build a triangle while six strings will build a hexagon.
• Use this quick and fun art activity to reinforce the concept of regular polygons. Give each student an old magazine and instruct her to find a real-life example of a triangle, a square, a pentagon, a hexagon, an octagon, or a
decagon. Have her cut out each example and glue it onto the center of a sheet of drawing paper. Underneath
each picture have her complete the following sentence: “A(n) _____ is an example of a(n) ________.” Collect
the shapes and bind them into a class book titled “Perfect Polygons!”
Regular polygons
Name
Under Construction
©1999 The Education Center, Inc. • The Mailbox® Math Series • Geometry • TEC3205 • Key p. 45
Harry Hexagon is building a wall using all types of polygons. He’s really behind and needs your
help. Harry needs to color all the regular polygons using the color code above. Help Harry locate and
color each regular polygon in the wall below. Remember that a regular polygon is a polygon with all
sides the same length and all angles the same measure.
Regular Polygons
triangle = yellow
square
= green
pentagon = blue
hexagon = orange
octagon = red
decagon = purple
Regular polygons
Made-to-Order Polygons
Draw your students into a better understanding of polygons
with this challenging activity!
Purpose: To construct various polygons using specific geometric attributes
Students will do the following:
• apply knowledge of shapes, angles, and lines to construct polygons
• measure angles with a protractor
• draw parallel lines
Materials for each student:
•
•
•
•
copy of page 6
pencil
ruler
protractor
Vocabulary to review:
•
•
•
•
acute, obtuse, and right angles
parallel lines
irregular polygon
regular polygon
Extension activities to use after the reproducible:
• Help students concentrate on polygons with this fun card game! Pair students and give each pair 12 index cards.
Instruct one partner to write on each of six separate index cards one of the following numbers: 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and
10. Instruct the other partner to draw on the remaining six blank index cards the corresponding polygon for
each numbered card. Then have the pair shuffle the cards and lay all 12 cards facedown on a desk. Instruct
one student to flip over two cards. If the two cards match, he gets to keep the cards. If they do not match, he
returns them facedown to their original spots on the desk. Play continues until all of the cards are matched and
collected. The player with the most cards wins! This game also makes a great center activity.
• Play Polygon Bingo to give students more geometry practice! First copy and assemble the number cube on page
43. Then give each student one copy of the Polygon Bingo card on page 43 and a supply of construction paper
squares to use as markers. Instruct the student to randomly program her card with drawings of either a triangle,
square, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, or decagon in each square on the card. Roll the assembled number cube
and call out the number rolled. Instruct each student to cover one space on his card that contains a polygon with
the same number of sides as the number called. Repeat this process until a student has covered five squares in
a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, and calls out “Polygon Bingo!”
Constructing polygons
Name
Made-to-Order Polygons
Constructing polygons
Business has been good at Shapes R Us, a made-to-order polygon shop. In
fact, the shop is so busy that orders have begun to back up! Help the shop catch
up with the demand by following the directions below to draw eight made-to-order shapes
in the spaces provided. Use a ruler and a protractor to make sure each shape is perfect!
Special Order Form
Special Order #1: one irregular polygon that has
four sides and two right angles
Special Order #5: one irregular polygon with
three unequal sides
Special Order #2: one irregular polygon that has
two pairs of parallel lines and no right angles
Special Order #6: one regular polygon with four
equal sides
Special Order #3: one irregular polygon with two
acute angles and two obtuse angles
Special Order #7: one irregular polygon with six
sides, four obtuse angles, and two acute angles
Special Order #4: one regular polygon with six
sides
Special Order #8: one irregular polygon with
five sides and two right angles
©1999 The Education Center, Inc. • The Mailbox® Math Series • Geometry • TEC3205 • Key p. 45
Pricey Polygon Pictures
Have your students turn geometry into works of art
with this activity on polygons!
Purpose: To identify polygons
Students will do the following:
• design models of regular polygons on dot grids
• calculate the worth of a polygon picture using a key
Materials for each student:
•
•
•
•
copy of page 8
pencil
pattern blocks or pattern block stencils
crayons
Vocabulary to review:
$$$
• pattern blocks
• polygons
• worth
$$$
Extension activities to use after the reproducible:
• Use the following activity to reinforce the concepts presented on page 8. Provide each student with a set of pattern block stencils, drawing paper, and crayons. Instruct the student to use the stencils and a pencil to create a
new design. Instruct the student to include every polygon shape at least once in her design. After a student completes her design, instruct her to create a bar graph or pictograph displaying the number of each shape used
in the design. Then have the student write at least two sentences interpreting the graph, such as, “I used three
more hexagons than trapezoids. The shape I used the most was a triangle.” Collect the assignments and display
them on a bulletin board titled “Perfect Polygon Pictures!”
• Make vocabulary fun when you create a polygon picture dictionary! Have each student write each of the following terms at the top of a separate sheet of paper: square, triangle, trapezoid, parallelogram, hexagon, polygon,
and quadrilateral. Then instruct the student to complete each page by drawing an example of the polygon underneath the appropriate term written on each sheet of paper. Then have the student look through old magazines
for photograph examples of each polygon. Have the student cut out the magazine photo example and paste it
underneath the appropriate drawing on the sheet of paper. Finally, have the student write a definition for each
polygon underneath each photo example. Have the student stack the completed sheets and then staple them
along the left-hand side to create his polygon picture dictionary booklet.
Polygons
Name
Pricey Polygon Pictures
$2.00
trapezoid
$1.00
parallelogram
$.5
square
$.50
triangle
$.25
Polygons
Note to the teacher: Give each student the materials listed on page 7. Instruct each student to use a pencil to create the design described above by tracing the pattern blocks or stencils in the box above.
©1999 The Education Center, Inc. • The Mailbox® Math Series • Geometry • TEC3205 • Key p. 45
My work of art is worth $ ________________. On the back of this sheet, explain in writing how you arrived at this price.
Try your hand at creating a pricey piece of art in the frame below! Your picture must meet the following requirements:
• total value is no more than $35.00
• includes at least 8 hexagons, 5 trapezoids, 4 parallelograms, 8 squares, 12 triangles
• has a title or name
hexagon
Teresa Trapezoid bases the cost of her drawings on the number of each kind of pattern block used.
For example, a work of art that includes six hexagons, three trapezoids, five parallelograms, ten squares,
and eight triangles would cost $25.75. This price is based on the key below.