Summary of Summary of Flat Shapes: Sides and Vertices

INTRODUCTION

Magic of Shapes: Discovering flat shapes is like learning a new language of forms and contours that are everywhere, from a letter paper to the screens of our tablets!
Builders of Ideas: Understanding the sides and vertices of flat shapes is essential for children to become skilled at visualizing and manipulating shapes, fundamentals of geometry.
Logic and Creativity: Knowledge of flat shapes sharpens logical reasoning and creativity, as by playing with shapes, children can create anything from drawings to solving complex puzzles.

Universe of Shapes: Flat shapes are the protagonists of a realm called Plane Geometry, a magical part of Mathematics where everything is measured in two dimensions - length and width.
Journey through Time: Flat shapes have accompanied humanity for centuries. They were used in historical constructions and today help in building houses, designing apps, and even city planning!
Pillars of Mathematics: This is one of the first steps in geometry. Understanding sides and vertices helps connect important points in other mathematical topics, such as measurement and symmetry.

Sides of Flat Shapes: They are the straight lines that form the outline of shapes like squares and rectangles. They tell us the shape of each figure:
- A square has 4 equal sides.
- A rectangle also has 4 sides, but two are longer.
- A triangle has 3 sides, which can be equal or not.
Vertices of Flat Shapes: They are the points where two sides meet. Vertices are like the tips of the stars of flat shapes:
- A square has 4 vertices, one at each corner.
- A rectangle also has 4 vertices.
- A triangle has 3 vertices, one for each corner.
Side-Vertex Relationship: Each side ends at a vertex, and each vertex connects two sides. This connection creates the skeleton of flat shapes.

Flat Shape: A shape that is completely flat, like a sheet of paper, without volume.
Side: The straight line that forms the edge of a flat shape. It can be short or long.
Vertex (plural: vertices): The exact point where two sides of a shape meet.

Square Example:
- Has 4 equal sides and 4 vertices.
- If we stretch the sides, will it still be a square? No, it would become a rectangle!
Rectangle Example:
- Has 2 long sides and 2 short sides, totaling 4 sides, with 4 vertices.
- If all sides are the same length, it turns into a square.
Triangle Example:
- Can have 3 equal sides (equilateral), 2 equal and 1 different (isosceles), or all different (scalene).
- It will always have 3 vertices, no matter the size of the sides.
Practical Comparison Case:
- Take a square and a triangle. Count the sides: the square has 1, 2, 3, 4; the triangle has 1, 2, 3.
- Now count the vertices: in the square, there are 4 corners, and in the triangle, there are 3 points.
- Comparing, the child sees that different shapes have different quantities of sides and vertices.

Shape Exploration: Identifying sides and vertices allows exploring and comparing different flat shapes like squares, rectangles, and triangles.
Counting Sides and Vertices: Practicing counting sides and vertices in shapes helps understand their structure and recognize their characteristics.
Shape Transformation: Observing how changing the length of the sides alters the shape from a square to a rectangle exemplifies the relationship between sides and the shape's format.
Comparison and Classification: Children learn to classify flat shapes according to the number of sides and vertices, an important step in basic geometry understanding.

Side-Vertex Relationship: Each side of a shape ends at a vertex, and each vertex joins two sides - this relationship is constant in all flat shapes.
Variety of Triangles: Triangles can vary based on the length of their sides, but will always maintain the number of three sides and three vertices.
Differentiation between Squares and Rectangles: Squares and rectangles share the characteristic of having four sides and four vertices, but differ in the length of the sides.

Visual Identification: Show images of various flat shapes and ask students to write the name of the shape, count the sides and vertices of each one.
- Ex: [image of a square] - Name: Square, Sides: 4, Vertices: 4.
Matching Characteristics: Provide a list with the number of sides and vertices and ask children to draw the corresponding shape.
- Ex: Sides: 3, Vertices: 3 - Draw a triangle.
Playful Comparison: Provide several cut-out shapes and ask children to group them into categories based on the number of sides and vertices, discussing the similarities and differences.