Virginia SOL 2.MG.4.d
The Standard
Compare and contrast plane and solid figures (circles/spheres, squares/cubes, and rectangles/rectangular prisms) according to their characteristics (e.g., number and shapes of their faces, edges, vertices).
Virginia Standards of Learning for Mathematics · The student will describe, name, compare, and contrast plane and solid figures (circles/spheres, squares/cubes, and rectangles/rectangular prisms).
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify whether a figure is flat or solid and name it. They compare related figures by describing sides, faces, edges, vertices, and curved surfaces.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student correctly sorts and names models and drawings. The student counts faces, edges, and vertices without missing hidden ones. Comparisons include a shared trait and a clear difference.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often call a sphere a circle or a cube a square because drawings look flat. They may count only visible faces, edges, or vertices. They may call a curved surface a face or treat every rectangular prism as a cube.
How to Assess It
- Show a cube and a square. Ask students to name each figure, then write one similarity and two differences using face, edge, vertex, or side.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Students sort paper circles, squares, and rectangles beside a ball, cube, and box, then complete a feature-count table.
Ask how a square is like a cube and how it is different, requiring two geometry words in the response.
Play Feature Clue Bingo by calling clues such as six square faces or no vertices while students cover the matching figure.
Have students inspect a cereal box, die, and ball, name each solid, then trace or sketch one related plane figure.
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