Marvelous Math with Mrs. Rose

Click HERE to try an interactive geometry exploration online.  Using virtual manipulatives, you can explore how to find the area of rectangles, parallelograms, and triangles!

This site, from NCTM’s Virtual Manipulatives Library, can also be accessed through this URL:

http://illuminations.nctm.org/Activities.aspx?grade=2&srchstr=Geometry

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below!

Mrs. Rose

Parents:  This is a great conversation to have with your children!

I had this chat with a group of elementary school children recently and you can’t fool them.

Most will describe the attributes of a rectangle to you.  They’ll say a rectangle . . .

• is a four-sided polygon
• has opposite sides of equal length
• is a quadrilateral
• has four right/90 degree angles
• has opposite sides, which are parallel

What about the attributes of a square?  ALL of the above, PLUS:

• ALL four sides are of EQUAL length

So, in answer to the question:  “Is a Square a Rectangle?”. . . .

the answer is YES!!!!!

A square is a special kind of rectangle.

ALL SQUARES ARE RECTANGLES, BUT NOT ALL RECTANGLES ARE SQUARES!!!

Parents:  Ask your child to explain this to you!