Let’s focus on the four-sided polygons. Polygons are closed shapes with sides that are line segments. Four-sided polygons are called quadrilaterals. These quadrilaterals can have more than one attribute. Here you will learn about the names of these shapes and their attributes. Some quadrilaterals can have more than one name. Let’s color code them. You will need different colored markers, pens, pencils, or crayons for this activity.

Color code the quadrilaterals

All polygons that are this shape Have these attributes Add colored line to the shape
Quadrilateral
  • 4 sides
 blue
Trapezoid
  • 4 sides
  • At least 1 pair of parallel sides

OR

  • Exactly one pair of parallel sides

(Which definition did you use? How did that affect which shapes get colored green?)

 green
Parallelogram
  • 4 sides
  • 2 pairs of parallel sides
 yellow
Rectangle
  • 4 sides
  • 4 right angles
 orange
Square
  • 4 sides
  • 4 right angles
  • Sides are equal lengths
 red
Rhombus
  • 4 sides
  • 2 pairs of parallel sides
  • Sides are equal lengths
 purple
Kite
  • 4 sides
  • 2 pairs of adjacent sides being equal
 black
Answer

Now sort the shapes by color.​

  • All shapes with blue lines are quadrilaterals. This includes all 4 sided shapes on the list​.
  • All shapes with purple lines are rhombus. This includes squares.​

Try using the color codes to make mathematical statements like: ​

  • A parallelogram (blue yellow) with right angles is a rectangle (blue yellow orange).​
  • A rectangle (blue yellow orange) with four sides of equal length is a square (blue yellow orange and red).​

What other mathematical statements can you make?​ Example statement

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