What A Find!

�

Purpose: To identify polygons

Students will do the following:• identify polygons within a larger figure• combine figures to form different polygons• follow directions to search for specific polygons

Materials for each student:• copy of page 4• pencil

Vocabulary to review:• polygons• quadrilateral• trapezoid• parallelogram• combine

Send students on a quest for polygons!

Polygons

Extension activities to use after the reproducible:• Bring out the pattern blocks for some fun explorations with polygons. Pair your students. Give each pair of stu-

dents a set of pattern blocks or one copy of the pattern-block patterns on page 4�. Have students experiment to find the different combinations of smaller blocks that form a larger shape. For example, three green triangles make a red trapezoid, or two red trapezoids make a yellow hexagon. Have students make tracings of their find-ings and share them with the class.

• Challenge your students to use pattern blocks to create other polygons—such as a pentagon, an octagon, or even a dodecagon (a 12-sided polygon). Give each student a set of pattern blocks or a duplicated set of blocks from page 4�. Have the student use a marker to trace the polygons he creates onto drawing paper and number each tracing. Then have each student trade papers with a partner and identify each of his partner’s polygons by writing each name next to the corresponding number on loose-leaf paper. Reward each student who correctly identifies all the shapes with a homework pass.

What A Find!

4 ©1999 The Education Center, Inc. • The Mailbox® Math Series • Geometry • TEC�201 • Key p. 45

Bonus Box: How many different quadilaterals can you find on the entranceway?

Name Polygons

What A Find! Iggie Iguana has discovered a pyramid and an entranceway deep in the rain forest of Costa Rica! He has concluded that the people who built these structures used a combination of polygons in their constructions. Help Iggie collect data on the number and kind of different polygons within these structures.

Find #2: Entranceway

Find #1: Pyramid Iggie sketched and numbered the shapes that form two of the pyramid’s faces. Write the name of each polygon next to its corresponding number. Then fill in the chart to identify the polygons that can be formed by combining two or more regions. The first one has been done for you.

Now study Iggie’s drawing of the entranceway. Fill in the chart to identify the polygons formed by combin-ing the regions listed.

1. ___________ 2. ___________ �. ___________ 4. ___________ 5. ___________

6. ___________ 7. ___________ 8. ___________ 9. ___________

triangle

1, 2

8, 9

4, 5

2, �

5, 66, 7

1, 2, �

7, 8, 9

6, 7, 8

4, 5, 6

6, 7, 8, 9

7, 8

1

2

3

4 5 6

7

8

9

1

2

34 5

6

7

8

9Regions Polygon

7, 8, 9

4, 51, 2

�, 48, 96, 7

�, 4, 5

trapezoid

Regions Polygon

Polygon Bingo!Polygon Bingo!

�

Purpose: To identify polygons

Students will do the following:• identify pictures of polygons while playing

a game

Materials for each student:• copy of page 6 • scissors• glue• 6” x 9” sheet of construction paper • game markers, such as dried beans or

paper squares

Vocabulary to review:• polygons: triangle, square, rectangle,

quadrilateral, parallelogram, trapezoid, rhombus, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, decagon

Have fun reviewing polygons with this familiar game!

Polygons

Extension activities to use after the reproducible:• Reinforce the recognition of polygons with this small-group graphing activity. Divide students into groups of four.

Give each group a quart-size resealable bag of pattern blocks. Direct the group members to sort the blocks by shape and then construct a bar graph of the shapes by number. Then have each group write a paragraph inter-preting their graph to share with the class.

• Spark students’ creativity by having them turn pattern-block tracings into animated masterpieces. Duplicate one set of the pattern blocks on page 43 for each student. Have each student cut out his blocks and place them inside a class container. Shake the container; then have each student draw out at least five blocks. Give the stu-dent a 9” x 12” sheet of white construction paper on which to arrange his cutouts into a polygon creature. Have him trace the cutouts on his paper, adding color and details. Then display students’ creations on a board titled “Polygon Antics.”

BINGO!

�

©1999 T

he Education C

enter, Inc. • The M

ailbox® M

ath Series • G

eometry • T

EC

3201

Nam

e

Polygons

To p

lay: Your teacher will call out the nam

e of a polygon from this

page one at a time. E

ach time a polygon is called, cover a picture

of that type of polygon on your game card. S

ome polygons w

ill be called m

ore than once. When four pictures in a row

are covered horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, call out “P

olygon Bingo!”

Your teacher will check to see if you are the w

inner.

No

te To T

he Teach

er: Duplicate a class set of this page plus one m

ore. Give each student one copy of this page and have him

follow the directions to m

ake his gam

e card. Use the extra copy to track the polygons that are called.

To m

ake the g

ame card

: Cut out the gam

e card below and glue

it to the construction paper your teacher gives you. Cut the poly-

gon pictures apart along the dotted lines; then randomly glue

each picture to a different box on your game card. P

olyg

on B

ingo!

triangle

rectangle

parallelogram

trapezoid

rh

omb

us

qu

ad

rilate

ral

square

pentagon

hex

agon

octagon

decagon

Amazing RiddlesAmazing Riddles

�

Purpose: To identify and construct polygons

Students will do the following:• solve riddles about polygons• use rulers to construct polygons

Materials for each student:• copy of page 8• pencil• ruler

Vocabulary to review:• polygons: quadrilateral, square, triangle, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, parallelogram, rhombus, trapezoid• opposite sides• parallel• acute and obtuse angles

Test your students’ knowledge of polygons with this riddle review!

Polygons

Extension activities to use after the reproducible:• Turn your students into polygon riddlers! Divide students into five groups. Assign each group one of the follow-

ing polygons: heptagon (� sides), nonagon (9 sides), decagon (10 sides), hendecagon (11 sides), dodecagon (12 sides). Have the members of each group write a riddle about their assigned polygon for their classmates to guess.

• Challenge pairs of students to teach groups of younger students the attributes of some standard polygons. First direct each pair of students to cut a triangle, a square, a rectangle, and a pentagon from colorful construction paper. Next have the pair write a riddle about each polygon. Then arrange for each student pair to share their cutouts with a group of younger students and have them guess their riddles.

?? ?

??

??

1.I have four equal sides, two pairs of parallel lines, and four right angles.

10.I am a parallelogram. All of my sides are the same length.

9.I am a quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel lines. My adjacent sides are different lengths and form right angles.

8.I am a four-sided polygon. None of my sides are the same length.

�.I am a five-sided polygon.

6. I am a quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel lines. I have no right angles. Two of my angles are acute and two are obtuse. I am not a rhombus.

5.I have three sides and three angles.4.

I have eight sides.

3. I am a polygon with six sides.

2.I am a quadrilateral with one pair of parallel lines, two acute angles, and two obtuse angles.

8 ©1999 The Education Center, Inc. • The Mailbox® Math Series • Geometry • TEC3201 • Key p. 45

Name Polygons

Amazing Riddles Reggie the clown can solve riddles with ease. However, the riddle at the bottom of this page has him stumped. You can help Reggie solve that riddle easily by matching the correct polygon in the box to each clue below. Next unscramble the boldfaced letters in the clues to help you solve the riddle. Then, amaze Reggie by using a ruler to draw any five of these polygons on the back of this page.

What did the little girl say when she saw the door to her birdcage had been left open?

“__ __ __ __ __ __ __ !”

Bonus Box: Look back at your answers to the even-numbered riddles above. Write down the number of angles in each of those five polygons. Then add the numbers together to find the total number of angles they represent.

quadrilateral trapezoid rectangle parallelogram trianglehexagon square octagon pentagon rhombus