Concept 5 of 8
Counting Figures: How Many Shapes?
Today's big idea
Count each shape once
Go in order; check for hidden ones.
How it works
👀 What's going on?
Ask how many squares are on a window and the quick answer is often too small — there are the little panes and sometimes a around them all. Careful counting beats a quick glance.
💡 Here's the trick
Look at the figure above. To count shapes you point to each one and count it once, making sure you do not miss any or count the same one twice. Sometimes a line even makes new shapes appear.
- 1.Decide which shape you are counting (squares, circles or triangles).
- 2.Touch each one and count it, going in order.
- 3.Check for any shape you may have missed.
✍️ Try it
- 1.How many small squares are in a 2-by-2 grid?
- 2.How many triangles does one diagonal make inside a square? A 2-by-2 grid has 4 small squares. One diagonal cuts a square into 2 triangles.
⚠️ Watch out
Go in an order — left to right, top to bottom — so you do not count a shape twice or skip one. A tidy count is a correct count.
See it in action
⚡ Time to play!
Tap every triangle you can find. Each one you tap lights up and counts.
Found 0 of 3 triangles
Quick check
✅ VERIFICATION
Two squares overlap. How many squares can you count?
⚡ Finish the activity above first to answer.
Keep going!
Up next: Paper Folding & Punching
One fold makes a mirror.