Introducing the puzzle
Say: “This picture is only half finished. The dotted line is a mirror. Can you draw the other half, so the shape looks the same on both sides of the mirror?”
Draw: The half-shapes below, with the mirror as a dotted line, one at a time.
Starter
“Can you make this shape the same on both sides of the mirror line?”
Main
“Can you make these funny shapes the same on both sides of the mirror line?”
Dessert
“This time the mirror is diagonal. Can you finish the picture?”
Tips for grown-ups
To help kids check, you can cut out the shapes and fold along the mirror line.
If they’re stuck, try solving one in front of them, but make sure you make a few wrong guesses first and ask what they think!
We’ve avoided the word “symmetry” as we’ve found it takes more explaining and doesn’t improve understanding. Feel free to name the concept if you like though!
Try asking them to “draw half a picture for me.”
Branch of mathematics
Geometry. This is the study of shapes and space. Reflection is one of the 3 basic transformations in geometry that keeps an object the same size and shape, along with translation (sliding) and rotation.
Answers
Starter:
Main:
Dessert:
Let us know how it went!