Virginia SOL 1.MG.2.b
The Standard
Sort plane figures based on their characteristics (e.g., number of sides, vertices, angles, curved).
Virginia Standards of Learning for Mathematics · The student will describe, sort, draw, and name plane figures (circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles), and compose larger plane figures by combining simple plane figures.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students examine circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles and compare their visible features. They group the figures by sides, vertices, angles, or curved boundaries and explain the sorting rule.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student accurately sorts shapes of different sizes and orientations using a stated characteristic. The student explains each choice using words such as sides, vertices, angles, straight, and curved.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may call every four-sided figure a square or decide a turned square is no longer a square. They may count corners twice or confuse sides with vertices.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Draw a circle, triangle, square, and rectangle. Label each figure’s sides and vertices, then circle every figure with four sides.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs shape cutouts and two hoops; students choose category labels, place each figure, and explain their choices.
Show a square turned on one vertex and ask, "Is it still a square? Prove your answer using sides, vertices, and angles."
Play Shape Sort Relay: students draw a card, name one characteristic, and place it under the matching category before a partner checks it.
Photograph classroom objects with circle, triangle, square, or rectangle faces, then sort the photos by straight sides, vertices, or curved boundaries.
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- 1.MG.2.c
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