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Sort Quadrilaterals

Grade 5: Unit 7: Lesson 4

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Lesson Purpose

The purpose of this lesson is for students to sort quadrilaterals and begin to notice the hierarchy and subcategories of quadrilaterals.

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.

Learning Goals

•Classify quadrilaterals based on angle measurements and side lengths.

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Let’s sort quadrilaterals.

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What Do You Know About…?

Warm-Up

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What do you know about quadrilaterals?

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Guess Which One?

Activity 1

MLR2: Collect and Display

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Play a round of Guess Which One.

Partner A: Select one of the quadrilaterals. Do not reveal your choice to your partner.

Partner B: Ask “yes” or “no” questions to guess which shape your partner picked. After each question, cross out or remove quadrilaterals based on your partner’s answers.

Launch

•Groups of 2

•Distribute the blackline master with the sheet protectors and dry-erase marker to each group or instruct students to use the image of quadrilaterals in their workbook.

Student Work Time

•8 minutes: partner work time

MLR2 Collect and Display

•Circulate, listen for and collect the language students use to describe the quadrilaterals as they sort. Listen for:

◦language and gestures used to describe angles, such as: wide, open, skinny, square, big, small, obtuse, acute, right

◦language and gestures used to describe sides, such as: straight, cross, intersect, parallel, perpendicular

◦language used to describe shapes, such as: square, tilted, flat, trapezoid, rhombus, diamond, arrow, parallelogram

•Record students’ words and phrases on a visual display and update it throughout the lesson.

Student Responses

Sample questions:
Does your shape have a right angle?
Is your shape a parallelogram?
Does your shape have all sides with equal length?
Does your shape have any parallel sides?
Does your shape have any labeled side lengths?

B. Sample questions: Does your shape have 4 angles that measure 90 degrees? Is your shape called a square?

Activity Synthesis

•“Are there any other words or phrases that are important to include on our display?”

•As students share responses, update the display, by adding (or replacing) language, diagrams, or annotations.

•Remind students to borrow language from the display as needed.

•Invite previously selected students to share.

•Display rhombus card that is not a square.

•“What are some names we can use to describe this shape?”

quadrilateral, diamond, parallelogram, rhombus

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Use the space to record your questions for this round.

Launch

•Groups of 2

•Distribute the blackline master with the sheet protectors and dry-erase marker to each group or instruct students to use the image of quadrilaterals in their workbook.

Student Work Time

•8 minutes: partner work time

MLR2 Collect and Display

•Circulate, listen for and collect the language students use to describe the quadrilaterals as they sort. Listen for:

◦language and gestures used to describe angles, such as: wide, open, skinny, square, big, small, obtuse, acute, right

◦language and gestures used to describe sides, such as: straight, cross, intersect, parallel, perpendicular

◦language used to describe shapes, such as: square, tilted, flat, trapezoid, rhombus, diamond, arrow, parallelogram

•Record students’ words and phrases on a visual display and update it throughout the lesson.

Student Responses

Sample questions:
Does your shape have a right angle?
Is your shape a parallelogram?
Does your shape have all sides with equal length?
Does your shape have any parallel sides?
Does your shape have any labeled side lengths?

B. Sample questions: Does your shape have 4 angles that measure 90 degrees? Is your shape called a square?

Activity Synthesis

•“Are there any other words or phrases that are important to include on our display?”

•As students share responses, update the display, by adding (or replacing) language, diagrams, or annotations.

•Remind students to borrow language from the display as needed.

•Invite previously selected students to share.

•Display rhombus card that is not a square.

•“What are some names we can use to describe this shape?”

quadrilateral, diamond, parallelogram, rhombus

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Han and Mai were playing Guess Which One. These are the last two shapes. What question can Mai ask to determine which shape is the one that Han picked?

Launch

•Groups of 2

•Distribute the blackline master with the sheet protectors and dry-erase marker to each group or instruct students to use the image of quadrilaterals in their workbook.

Student Work Time

•8 minutes: partner work time

MLR2 Collect and Display

•Circulate, listen for and collect the language students use to describe the quadrilaterals as they sort. Listen for:

◦language and gestures used to describe angles, such as: wide, open, skinny, square, big, small, obtuse, acute, right

◦language and gestures used to describe sides, such as: straight, cross, intersect, parallel, perpendicular

◦language used to describe shapes, such as: square, tilted, flat, trapezoid, rhombus, diamond, arrow, parallelogram

•Record students’ words and phrases on a visual display and update it throughout the lesson.

Student Responses

Sample questions:
Does your shape have a right angle?
Is your shape a parallelogram?
Does your shape have all sides with equal length?
Does your shape have any parallel sides?
Does your shape have any labeled side lengths?

B. Sample questions: Does your shape have 4 angles that measure 90 degrees? Is your shape called a square?

Activity Synthesis

•“Are there any other words or phrases that are important to include on our display?”

•As students share responses, update the display, by adding (or replacing) language, diagrams, or annotations.

•Remind students to borrow language from the display as needed.

•Invite previously selected students to share.

•Display rhombus card that is not a square.

•“What are some names we can use to describe this shape?”

quadrilateral, diamond, parallelogram, rhombus

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If you have time… Switch roles and play Guess which on again.

Launch

•Groups of 2

•Distribute the blackline master with the sheet protectors and dry-erase marker to each group or instruct students to use the image of quadrilaterals in their workbook.

Student Work Time

•8 minutes: partner work time

MLR2 Collect and Display

•Circulate, listen for and collect the language students use to describe the quadrilaterals as they sort. Listen for:

◦language and gestures used to describe angles, such as: wide, open, skinny, square, big, small, obtuse, acute, right

◦language and gestures used to describe sides, such as: straight, cross, intersect, parallel, perpendicular

◦language used to describe shapes, such as: square, tilted, flat, trapezoid, rhombus, diamond, arrow, parallelogram

•Record students’ words and phrases on a visual display and update it throughout the lesson.

Student Responses

Sample questions:
Does your shape have a right angle?
Is your shape a parallelogram?
Does your shape have all sides with equal length?
Does your shape have any parallel sides?
Does your shape have any labeled side lengths?

B. Sample questions: Does your shape have 4 angles that measure 90 degrees? Is your shape called a square?

Activity Synthesis

•“Are there any other words or phrases that are important to include on our display?”

•As students share responses, update the display, by adding (or replacing) language, diagrams, or annotations.

•Remind students to borrow language from the display as needed.

•Invite previously selected students to share.

•Display rhombus card that is not a square.

•“What are some names we can use to describe this shape?”

quadrilateral, diamond, parallelogram, rhombus

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Card Sort: Quadrilaterals

Activity 2

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Your teacher will give you a set of cards.

Sort all of the quadrilateral cards in a way that makes sense to you. Name the categories in your sort.

Sort the quadrilateral cards in a different way and name each of the categories in your new sort.

Launch

•Groups of 2

•Distribute a set of cards to each pair of students.

Student Work Time

•“In this activity, you will sort some cards into categories of your choosing. When you sort the quadrilaterals, you should work with your partner to come up with categories.”

•8 minutes: partner work time

•Select groups to share their categories and how they sorted their cards.

•Choose as many different types of categories as time allows.

•“Now work with your partner to sort your cards using parallel lines.”

•5 minutes: partner work time

Student Responses

Sample responses:

•shapes with parallel lines

•shapes with perpendicular sides or 90 degree angles

•categories of shapes: trapezoids, parallelograms, rectangles, squares

•shapes with obtuse or right or labeled angles

Activity Synthesis

•Invite previously selected students to share.

•As students share their sorts, ask, “What attributes do all of these shapes have in common?”

•“How did you use parallel lines to sort the quadrilaterals?”

Some of the quadrilaterals did not have any parallel sides. Some had one pair of parallel sides. And some had two pairs of parallel sides.

•Invite students to share examples of the quadrilaterals with no parallel sides, one pair of parallel sides, and two pairs of parallel sides.

Answers vary.

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Lesson Synthesis

Today, we sorted quadrilaterals based on their attributes.

“Today, we sorted quadrilaterals based on their attributes.”

As students respond to questions, create a large display to be revisited and edited throughout the next few lessons as students learn more about the relationships between different quadrilaterals.

“What are some categories of shapes that are quadrilaterals?” (rhombuses, squares, rectangles, trapezoids, parallelograms)

Draw the shapes as students name them or ask the students to draw the shapes.

“Pick two of the different shapes and share a way they are the same.” (Squares and rectangles have angles that are all 90 degrees. Rhombuses and squares have 4 sides of the same length.)

“Pick two of the different shapes and share a way they are different.” (A trapezoid can have angles of any size while a square always has 90 degree angles. A trapezoid can have all different side lengths while a rhombus has 4 sides that are the same length.)

Keep this as an anchor chart to revisit for the next few lessons as students revise their thinking.

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Lesson Synthesis

What are some categories of shapes that are quadrilaterals?

“Today, we sorted quadrilaterals based on their attributes.”

As students respond to questions, create a large display to be revisited and edited throughout the next few lessons as students learn more about the relationships between different quadrilaterals.

“What are some categories of shapes that are quadrilaterals?” (rhombuses, squares, rectangles, trapezoids, parallelograms)

Draw the shapes as students name them or ask the students to draw the shapes.

“Pick two of the different shapes and share a way they are the same.” (Squares and rectangles have angles that are all 90 degrees. Rhombuses and squares have 4 sides of the same length.)

“Pick two of the different shapes and share a way they are different.” (A trapezoid can have angles of any size while a square always has 90 degree angles. A trapezoid can have all different side lengths while a rhombus has 4 sides that are the same length.)

Keep this as an anchor chart to revisit for the next few lessons as students revise their thinking.

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Choose Two

Cool-Down

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Cool Down: Choose Two

Choose two of the quadrilaterals. What are they called?

Name an attribute the two quadrilaterals share. What is one way the two shapes are different?

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Image Citations

https://pixabay.com/photos/bird-sparrow-perched-perched-bird-5812654/

Creative Commons BY-NC-SA

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