Lesson 4
Sort Quadrilaterals
Lesson Purpose
Lesson Narrative
In grade 3, students understand that different shapes may share attributes. They learn that shapes with four sides are part of a larger category of shapes, called quadrilaterals. In grade 4, students classify two-dimensional shapes by attributes, such as angle sizes, and the presence of perpendicular or parallel lines containing the sides.
In this lesson, students sort quadrilaterals into categories in a way that makes sense to them, with an emphasis on side lengths, angles, perpendicular sides, and parallel sides. Students may begin to notice some relationships between categories of quadrilaterals. For example, they might notice that squares have 4 right angles like rectangles and their opposite sides are parallel like parallelograms. These relationships will be brought out more fully in the next several lessons. Students should have access to straight edges, protractors, and patty paper throughout this lesson.
- Representation
Learning Goals
Teacher Facing
- Classify quadrilaterals based on angle measurements and side lengths.
Student Facing
- Let’s sort quadrilaterals.
Required Materials
Materials to Gather
Materials to Copy
- Card Sort Quadrilaterals (Grade 5)
- Guess Which One
Required Preparation
Activity 1:
- Consider giving each student a sheet protector and a dry-erase marker so that students can easily reuse the blackline master for multiple rounds of the game.
Activity 2:
- Create a set of cards from the blackline master for each group of 2.
Lesson Timeline
Warm-up | 10 min |
Activity 1 | 15 min |
Activity 2 | 20 min |
Lesson Synthesis | 10 min |
Cool-down | 5 min |
Teacher Reflection Questions
Suggested Centers
- Can You Draw It? (1–5), Stage 6: Shapes on the Coordinate Grid (Addressing)
- Which One? (K–5), Stage 6: Shapes on the Coordinate Grid (Addressing)
- How Are They the Same? (1–5), Stage 4: Grade 4 Shapes (Supporting)
Print Formatted Materials
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Student Task Statements | docx | |
Lesson Cover Page | docx | |
Cool Down | Log In | |
Teacher Guide | Log In | |
Teacher Presentation Materials | docx | |
Blackline Masters | zip |