Exploring Symmetry – A Mirror into Magnificent Maths!

Today in class, we dove headfirst into the wonderfully wobbly world of symmetry – and let me tell you, it was anything but a straight line!

We kicked things off by exploring what symmetry really means (spoiler alert: it’s not a new dance move). The children discovered that symmetry is when one half of a shape is a mirror image of the other. In other words, if you were to fold it along a special line – the line of symmetry – both sides would match perfectly. Think butterfly wings, heart shapes and suspiciously neat sandwiches.

To bring the idea to life, we tried flipping, folding, and mirroring shapes until our brains nearly folded in half too. Once everyone understood the flipping fun of symmetry, we moved on to maths journaling – but not just any old journaling. Oh no. This class decided to go full-on “Symmetry Superstars” with their work. Instead of stopping at “this shape has one line of symmetry,” the children did it better than they had to – they named the shapes (accurately!), described the lines as horizontal, vertical, or even diagonal (fancy stuff), and rattled off shape properties like mini mathematicians in training.

What really got them excited, though, was the mirror check. Armed with small mirrors and big curiosity, the children examined each shape closely, watching the reflections appear before their eyes. The energy in the room was as bright as a shiny reflection. We had laughs, “aha!” moments, and even a few dramatic gasps when someone discovered a rectangle only has TWO lines of symmetry?! Shocking, we know.

A huge well done to our class of symmetry detectives – you truly mirrored excellence today!