Maryland Math 5.GR.B.2
The Standard
Explain that attributes belonging to a category of two-dimensional figures also belong to all subcategories of that category (e.g., all rectangles have four right angles and squares are rectangles, so all squares have four right angles).
Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for Mathematics (2025) · CLASSIFY TWO-DIMENSIONAL FIGURES BASED ON PROPERTIES.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students group flat shapes by their sides and angles. They explain why a property of every rectangle also applies to squares, since squares are rectangles.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student places a square in both the square and rectangle groups. They explain that every square has four right angles, but a rectangle does not need four equal sides.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students say squares and rectangles are separate groups. Others reverse the rule and claim every rectangle has four equal sides. A tilted square may look like a different shape to them.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: All rectangles have four right angles. A square is a rectangle. What can you say about a square’s angles, and why?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Sort paper squares, nonsquare rectangles, and parallelograms without right angles into nested hoops labeled squares, rectangles, and quadrilaterals.
Ask, 'If every square is a rectangle, is every rectangle a square?' Have students sketch a counterexample and explain.
Deal cards labeled quadrilaterals, rectangles, and squares; call out 'four sides' or 'four right angles' and have students raise every matching card.
Check a classroom window and a square floor tile with a folded paper right angle, then explain why both belong in the rectangle group.
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Printable 5.GR.B.2 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- 3.GR.B.5
Explain that shapes in different categories (e.g., rhombuses, rectangles, and others) may share attributes (e.g., having four sides), and that the shared attrib...
- 1.GR.B.3
Distinguish between defining attributes (e.g., triangles are closed and three-sided) versus non-defining attributes (e.g., color, orientation, overall size).
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