Reception Maths: Sides and corners

Key words. A side is one straight edge. A corner is where two sides meet.

Method. Touch each side once, one at a time. The number of sides is how many you touched.

1. Touch the sides of the triangle. Touch each straight side once.
   1, 2, 3
2. Count the sides. The last number is how many sides there are.
   3 sides
3. Write the answer.
   3

Check. Count again from the other side. You get 3 again. ✓

Watch out. Touch each side once. Do not count a corner as a side.

Key words. A side is one straight edge. A corner is where two sides meet.

Method. Touch each side once, one at a time. The number of sides is how many you touched.

1. Touch the sides of the square. Touch each straight side once.
   1, 2, 3, 4
2. Count the sides. The last number is how many sides there are.
   4 sides
3. Write the answer.
   4

Check. Count again from the other side. You get 4 again. ✓

Watch out. Touch each side once. Do not count a corner as a side.

Key words. A side is one straight edge. A corner is where two sides meet.

Method. Touch each side once, one at a time. The number of sides is how many you touched.

1. Touch the sides of the rectangle. Touch each straight side once.
   1, 2, 3, 4
2. Count the sides. The last number is how many sides there are.
   4 sides
3. Write the answer.
   4

Check. Count again from the other side. You get 4 again. ✓

Watch out. Touch each side once. Do not count a corner as a side.

Key words. A side is one straight edge. A corner is where two sides meet.

Method. Touch each side once, one at a time. The number of sides is how many you touched.

1. Touch the sides of the circle. Touch each straight side once.
   none
2. Count the sides. The last number is how many sides there are.
   no straight sides
3. Write the answer.
   0

Check. Count again from the other side. You get 0 again. ✓

Watch out. Touch each side once. Do not count a corner as a side.

Method. Touch each corner once. A corner is a point where two sides meet.

1. Touch the corners of the triangle. Touch each corner once.
   1, 2, 3
2. Count the corners. The last number is how many corners there are.
   3 corners
3. Write the answer.
   3

Check. Count the corners again: the answer is 3. ✓

Watch out. Do not count the same corner twice.

Method. Touch each corner once. A corner is a point where two sides meet.

1. Touch the corners of the square. Touch each corner once.
   1, 2, 3, 4
2. Count the corners. The last number is how many corners there are.
   4 corners
3. Write the answer.
   4

Check. Count the corners again: the answer is 4. ✓

Watch out. Do not count the same corner twice.

Method. Touch each corner once. A corner is a point where two sides meet.

1. Touch the corners of the rectangle. Touch each corner once.
   1, 2, 3, 4
2. Count the corners. The last number is how many corners there are.
   4 corners
3. Write the answer.
   4

Check. Count the corners again: the answer is 4. ✓

Watch out. Do not count the same corner twice.

Method. Count the sides of each shape.

1. Look at a. The square has four sides.
   4
2. Look at b. The triangle has three sides.
   3
3. Look at c. The rectangle has four sides.
   4
4. Write the answer.
   triangle

Check. Count the sides of b: 1, 2, 3. ✓

Watch out. Count carefully: square and rectangle both have four.

Method. A square has four equal sides.

1. Think about sides. Four sides, all the same length.
   4 equal sides
2. Think about corners. Four corners.
   4 corners
3. Write the answer.
   square

Check. Count 4 sides and 4 corners. ✓

Watch out. A rectangle has four sides too, but not all the same length.

Method. Touch each corner once. A corner is a point where two sides meet.

1. Touch the corners of the triangle. Touch each corner once.
   1, 2, 3
2. Count the corners. The last number is how many corners there are.
   3 corners
3. Write the answer.
   3

Check. Count the corners again: the answer is 3. ✓

Watch out. Do not count the same corner twice.

Method. Count the sides on a square.

1. Touch each side. Touch each side once.
   1, 2, 3, 4
2. Count the sides. A square has four sides.
   4
3. Write the answer.
   No. A square has 4 sides.

Check. Count again: 4 sides. ✓

Watch out. Check every side, including the one you cannot see at first.

Method. Think about shapes that have 4 corners.

1. Think about 4 corners. Square and rectangle both have 4 corners.
   4 corners
2. Name the shapes. Each of these has four corners.
   square, rectangle
3. Write the answer.
   Accept any answer: square and rectangle.

Check. Count the corners on a square and a rectangle: 4 each. ✓

Watch out. Triangles have three corners, not four.

Method. Think about what a corner is.

1. What is a corner? A corner is where two straight sides meet.
   two sides meet
2. Look at a circle. A circle has no straight sides.
   no straight sides
3. Write the answer.
   Accept any answer: a circle is round and has no straight sides, so no corners.

Check. A circle is round all the way around. ✓

Watch out. No straight sides means no corners.