Properties of 2-D shapes – Year 4 maths lesson

Lesson 27 of 31 in the Year 4 maths course

UK version. UK school years, UK spelling and pounds (£). · US Math Department

A complete 45-minute lesson for Year 4 (ages 8–9) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is marked straight away, with a worked explanation.

Time: 45 minutes + 20 min homework
Year: Year 4 (ages 8–9)
You need: Paper, a pencil and this page
Marked: Instantly, with explanations

For parents: how to use this lesson

You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is marked straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to mark anything.

Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “Is a square a rectangle? Is a rectangle a square? Explain.”
Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

Thinking a square is not a rectangle. Check the rule: four right angles – a square has them too.
Naming shapes by how they look when turned (a "diamond"). Count sides and check angles, whatever way round it is.

Tip for home: Hunt for parallel and perpendicular lines in windows, doors and tiles.

What your child will learn

We are learning to describe and classify 2-D shapes by their sides, angles and lines.

Success looks like

I can describe shapes by their properties.
I can spot parallel and perpendicular lines.
I can classify shapes.

Key words

polygon: a flat shape with straight sides
parallel: always the same distance apart
perpendicular: meeting at a right angle
regular: all sides and angles equal

What to have ready

Paper and a pencil
This page on a computer, tablet or phone
For the hands-on part: Sort cut-out shapes into groups using a sorting diagram: has a right angle / has parallel sides.

The big ideas (for the adult)

Shapes are grouped by their properties: the number of sides, equal sides, parallel sides and the size of their angles.

Parallel lines never meet; perpendicular lines meet at a right angle.

A square is a special rectangle, and a rectangle is a special parallelogram: one shape can belong to several groups.

The lesson, step by step

45 minutes in 5 parts
Part	Time	How it is checked
Starter: quick recall	5 min	Marked by Classfern
Teaching input	10 min	Not assessed, self-checked
Worked examples and guided practice	9 min	Not assessed, marked by Classfern
Independent practice	15 min	Marked by Classfern
Plenary and exit ticket	6 min	Marked by Classfern, self-checked

Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are marked by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.

The lesson

It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.

Homework and practice at home

20 minutes: 10 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all marked instantly.

More practice

Year 4 shape and angles testMarked instantly

All Year 4 maths lessons and tests · Maths Department

Curriculum

National Curriculum for England, Year 4: “compare and classify geometric shapes, including quadrilaterals and triangles, based on their properties and sizes”

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.