Virginia SOL 2.MG.3.b
The Standard
Create figures with at least one line of symmetry using various concrete and pictorial representations.
Virginia Standards of Learning for Mathematics · The student will identify, describe, and create plane figures (including circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles) that have at least one line of symmetry and explain its relationship with congruency.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students create shapes or designs with at least one line of symmetry using paper, blocks, grids, or drawings. They check that matching parts line up across the symmetry line.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can draw or build a figure and correctly mark at least one line of symmetry. The student can show that the two sides match by folding, tracing, or comparing corresponding parts.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think any line that splits a figure is a line of symmetry, even when the parts do not match. They may also think symmetry lines must be vertical or that every diagonal works.
How to Assess It
- Give students a dot grid and ask them to draw a figure with one line of symmetry, mark the line, and explain how they checked.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Fold paper in half, cut a shape along the folded edge, open it, and trace the fold as the symmetry line.
Show two figures and ask, "Which figure is symmetrical, and what evidence proves it?"
Play Finish the Figure by giving students half a shape on grid paper to complete across a marked line.
Examine butterflies, leaves, and building fronts, then sketch one object and mark a possible line of symmetry.
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Printable 2.MG.3.b Worksheet
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Related Standards
- K.MG.2.f
Construct plane figures (circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles) using a variety of materials (e.g., straws, sticks, pipe cleaners).
- 2.MG.3
The student will identify, describe, and create plane figures (including circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles) that have at least one line of symmetry an...
- 2.MG.3.a
Explore a figure using a variety of tools (e.g., paper folding, geoboards, drawings) to show and justify a line of symmetry, if one exists.
- K.MG.2.a
Identify and name concrete and pictorial representations of circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles regardless of their orientation in space.
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