Properties of Shape - Symmetry Activity - Starter

In the context of a Year 4 mathematics curriculum, a symmetry activity starter is designed to engage students with various mathematical concepts. The activity is part of the summer term's tenth week and focuses on properties of shape. Students are presented with a series of exercises to test their fluency in numerical operations and their understanding of geometric shapes. One task requires them to construct a number using thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones, and then perform an addition by adding a number that is three less than sixty-nine tens. Another challenge involves estimating the value of letters representing thousands, where students must approximate the values of A, B, C, and D within a given range.

Further exercises in the activity require students to delve into decimal numbers, identifying the number of ones, tenths, and hundredths in a given decimal and writing it out in full. Arithmetic practice is also included, with addition problems such as 2,374 plus 625, which students must solve. To explore shapes, students are asked to label diagrams with the correct names, such as parallelogram, rhombus, trapezium, and square. This starter activity not only reinforces arithmetic skills but also encourages students to recognise and understand the symmetry and properties of different geometric shapes. Approximate answers are provided for the estimation tasks, with a margin of 50 allowed for the estimated values, ensuring that students have a guide for their estimations.