Shapes Around Us
Class 4 · Mathematics
4 ideas in Class 4 Mathematics, explained in plain words, with games and quizzes to practise.
Faces, edges and corners of solids
Part of: Solid shapes
Solid shapes have flat or curved faces, straight edges where faces meet, and corners where edges meet. A dice has 6 faces, 12 edges and 8 corners.
Why it matters. Counting parts carefully builds the habit of describing shapes with numbers, which helps in later geometry.
Try it in two minutes
- Gather a dice, a tin, a ball and a box.
- Ask the child to touch every flat face of the dice and count them.
- Run a finger along the edges and count them, then count the corners.
- Ask which of the objects has no corners at all.
Try at home. Find three objects at home and write down how many faces and corners each one has.
Prisms, pyramids and nets
Part of: Solid shapes
A prism has two matching ends joined by rectangles. A pyramid has one base and triangles that meet at a top point. A net is the solid opened out flat.
Why it matters. Recognising solids by their faces helps children picture shapes in their mind.
Try it in two minutes
- Take an empty cereal box and a tent-shaped paper model.
- Ask what shape the ends of the box are and how many rectangles join them.
- Carefully open the box along its folds and lay it flat.
- Ask the child to fold it back and explain which faces touch each other.
Try at home. Draw the flat net of a small box and fold it to check.
Right, acute and obtuse angles
Part of: Angles and circles
An angle is made when two lines meet at a point. A right angle is a square corner, an acute angle is narrower and an obtuse angle is wider.
Why it matters. Angles appear in buildings, furniture, roads and sports, so seeing them helps children read the world around them.
Try it in two minutes
- Fold a sheet of paper twice to make a square corner as a right angle checker.
- Walk around the house and check the corners of a book, a door and a window with it.
- Open a pair of scissors a little and ask if the angle is smaller or bigger than the checker.
- Open it wide and ask again.
Try at home. Find two acute and two obtuse angles in the kitchen and describe them.
Circles: centre, radius and diameter
Part of: Angles and circles
A circle has a centre in the middle. The radius goes from the centre to the border. The diameter goes across through the centre and is twice the radius.
Why it matters. Knowing these words lets a child describe wheels, plates and coins correctly.
Try it in two minutes
- Cut a circle from paper and fold it in half.
- Open it and show the crease as the diameter.
- Fold it another way and ask if the new crease is just as long.
- Measure from the centre to the edge and compare with the diameter.
Try at home. Measure a bowl and a plate at home and compare their diameters.
What your child will practise
- Circles: centre, radius and diameter: Space Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Faces, edges and corners of solids: Ocean Puzzle (Clue Puzzle)
- Prisms, pyramids and nets: Space Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Right, acute and obtuse angles: Jungle Sort (Sort It Out)
- Right, acute and obtuse angles: Ocean Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Quiz: Circles: centre, radius and diameter (8 questions)
- Quiz: Faces, edges and corners of solids (8 questions)
- Quiz: Prisms, pyramids and nets (8 questions)
- Quiz: Right, acute and obtuse angles (8 questions)