Six pages for Year 6 on similar shapes and scale factors. Page 1 asks children to enlarge six shapes on squared paper by scale factor 2 or 3, starting from a dot, so the answer key can show exactly where each one goes. Page 2 shows pairs of shapes drawn to scale: children compare a pair of matching sides to find the scale factor. Pages 3 and 4 give one side of the larger shape, so children find the scale factor first and then the missing sides, of rectangles and then of triangles. Page 5 asks whether two rectangles are similar by finding the scale factor for the short sides and for the long sides. Page 6 uses scale factors in short problems about a photo, a model car, a plan, a lighthouse and enlarged shapes.
Draw a small rectangle on the board and ask a child to draw one twice as big. Did both sides double? Then show a rectangle where 2 was added to each side and ask whether it looks the same shape. Page 5 builds on that talk: shapes are similar only when every side is multiplied by the same number.
Look for enlargements at home: a photo printed in two sizes, a toy car beside a real one, or a map. Ask your child how many times bigger one is than the other, and to check by measuring two different sides.
This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:
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Enlarging shapes by a scale factor and solving problems about similar shapes. Students draw enlargements on squared paper, work out scale factors and missing sides, decide whether two rectangles are similar and use scale factors with models, photos and plans.
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