Investigate symmetry and symmetrical patterns

I can find lines of symmetry in real life contexts and design my own symmetrical patterns.

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Year 4

Investigate symmetry and symmetrical patterns

I can find lines of symmetry in real life contexts and design my own symmetrical patterns.

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Share activities with pupils

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Lesson details

Key learning points

There are lots of real life examples where you can find lines of symmetry, for example in flags.
When a pattern is symmetrical, you can fold along its line of symmetry and the two halves will match exactly.

Common misconception

Children may think that a rectangular flag has diagonal lines of symmetry.

Allow children to cut out and fold the flags to help them see that a rectangle does not have any diagonal lines of symmetry.

Keywords

Symmetrical - When a shape, pattern or image has two halves that match exactly when folded, it can be described as symmetrical.
Line of symmetry - If you were to fold a shape at its line of symmetry, both halves would match exactly.
Reflect - When you reflect a shape, you flip it over a mirror line or line of symmetry without turning it or changing the size.

Part of this lesson involves children planning their own symmetrical design for a t-shirt. Using a search engine, many real-life examples can be found that could be shared with the children. You may be able to link this lesson to the wider curriculum, for example design and technology or art.

Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).