I is for Isosceles Triangles – A Geometry Exploration

Mommy Crusader Preschool Units, School, STEAM 2 Comments

Continuing our STEAM focus for the letter I, we discussed triangles. Specifically, we talked about isosceles triangles. Isosceles triangles are unique from other triangles because two sides are equal and  the angles opposite the equal sides are also equal. We used three separate activities as during our I is for isosceles triangles exploration.

Activity 1: Find the Isosceles Triangles

Objective: to help children understand what characteristics make an isosceles triangle.

Materials:
One copy of the Circle all Isosceles Triangles worksheet for each child — click link for free printable.
Writing instrument  for each child – we used crayons

Method:
Begin by talking about the characteristics of an isosceles triangle.
* two sides of equal length
* the angles opposite the equal lengths are also equivalent

After discussing the characteristics, show the children what an isosceles triangle looks like using the worksheet. After showing them one, ask them to circle all the remaining isosceles triangles on the worksheet. Hint: all the triangles are isosceles triangles. After completing this worksheet, it’s time to move onto the next activity.

Activity 2: Draw Isosceles Triangles

Objective: to help children understand how to create an isosceles triangle.

Materials:
One copy of the Draw Isosceles Triangles — click link for the free printable
Writing instrument for each child – again we used crayons.

Method:
After completing the first activity, it’s time to have the children create some isosceles triangles. Using the dot paper help the children create isosceles triangles. The dots will help the children be able to measure the length of each side. It is helpful to remind the children that the lengths need to be  the same for at least two sides of the triangle.

Let the children have some time to make isosceles triangles independently. Make sure to keep the definition of what the isosceles triangle available to the children as they work.

Once they are finished making triangles, it’s time to move to the next activity.

Activity 3: Creating Shapes with Isosceles Triangles

Materials:

One copy of the I is for Isosceles Triangle worksheet — click the link for a free printable.
A pair of scissors for each child

Method:
Have each child cut out the triangles from the template page. Cutting is a great way to build fine motor control. Younger children will need a bit of help cutting out the triangles.

After the shapes are completed, have the children create different shapes with the triangles.

Let them have enough time to find rectangles, parallelograms, and in this case the circle. They may also make flowers, houses, etc.

These were fun activities that helped my children develop a better understanding of isosceles triangles. My children really liked drawing the triangles and creating objects from triangles. The three activities also helped to develop their fine motor skills, which are so important to their ability to write letters correctly.

This is the second activity in our STEAM focus for the letter I. We previously worked on the art component with I is for Inkblot. Our next activity will be a practical exploration of irrigation.

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