Shapes and Angles
Class 5 · Mathematics
4 ideas in Class 5 Mathematics, explained in plain words, with games and quizzes to practise.
Angles Change the Shape
Part of: Why shapes look different
A closed shape has as many corners as it has sides. Two shapes can both have four sides and still look very different, because the angle at each corner can be wide or narrow. Try it with four straws or pencils laid in a loop: pushing one corner makes a square lean into a slanted shape.
Why it matters. Children often think the number of sides decides a shape completely. Seeing that angles matter prepares them for naming shapes properly and for comparing them later.
Try it in two minutes
- Lay four pencils in a square on the table. Ask: how many sides and corners?
- Gently push one corner so the square leans. Ask: what is the same and what changed?
- Try again with five pencils and let your child make two different shapes.
Try at home. Ask your child to make two different closed shapes with six straws or ice-cream sticks and say how they differ.
Comparing Angles
Part of: Looking at angles
An angle is the opening between two lines that meet at a point, like the gap between two arms of a pair of scissors. The wider the opening, the bigger the angle. The length of the arms does not matter, only the opening.
Why it matters. Comparing angles is the first step to measuring them. It also helps children describe doors, roofs, ramps and clocks accurately.
Try it in two minutes
- Open a book a little, then wider, then flat. Ask: when was the angle biggest?
- Open a pair of scissors the same amount, then hold a long ruler and a short ruler at that same opening. Ask: are the angles the same?
- Ask your child to find two angles at home and say which is bigger.
Try at home. Make two angles with a pair of chopsticks, one narrow and one wide, and ask your child to explain which is bigger.
Right Angles and the Angle Tester
Part of: The right angle
A right angle is the square corner you see in a notebook page, a book or a window frame. An angle tester is two strips of card pinned together at one end so that they can open and close. When it opens exactly like the letter L, it shows a right angle that you can carry around and compare with other corners.
Why it matters. The right angle is the standard that other angles are compared with. Children who can check a corner themselves will find angles in the world around them.
Try it in two minutes
- Cut two card strips and pin them together at one end. Open them like the letter L.
- Walk around the room with your child and test the corners of a book, a table and a door.
- Ask: which corners fit exactly and which do not?
Try at home. Ask your child to find five right angles at home and draw one of them in a notebook.
More or Less Than a Right Angle
Part of: Angles around us
Once children know a right angle, every angle can be sorted into three groups: exactly a right angle, narrower than a right angle, or wider than a right angle. A sharp pencil tip is narrower, a notebook corner is a right angle, and a laptop screen tilted far back is wider.
Why it matters. Sorting angles builds the habit of comparing with a standard. It also makes children notice geometry in letters, tools and buildings.
Try it in two minutes
- Make a right angle with your two index fingers. Open them wider, then narrower.
- Say each time: more than, less than or a right angle?
- Look at the letters L, V and T on a page and ask your child about the angles in them.
Try at home. Ask your child to find one thing at home for each group: right angle, more than a right angle, and less than a right angle.
What your child will practise
- Angles Change the Shape: Jungle Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Comparing Angles: Ocean Quest (Collect the Answer)
- More or Less Than a Right Angle: Space Sort (Sort It Out)
- More or Less Than a Right Angle: Treasure Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Right Angles and the Angle Tester: Desert Puzzle (Clue Puzzle)
- Quiz: Angles Change the Shape (8 questions)
- Quiz: Comparing Angles (8 questions)
- Quiz: More or Less Than a Right Angle (8 questions)
- Quiz: Right Angles and the Angle Tester (8 questions)