Printable guide · ages 6–8

Piko’s Shape Workshop

Connect the visible boundary to a property and a new construction. Each lesson has four explanations, three activities and a separate making or matching task. Names and rotation alone do not define a shape.

Materials: The screen is sufficient. Optional large paper shapes or a sheet folded by an adult. No scissors, camera upload, account, fine dragging or real-world completion claim is required.

Open the lessons

What to notice

Notice whether the child follows the whole boundary, conserves shape under turning, checks both halves across a fold, and sees gaps or overlaps. Accept pointing, speech or keyboard placement.

Ask “What stayed the same?” or “Which part shows your reason?” A star records this lesson task on this device; it does not assess development, diagnose or certify mastery.

Lesson 1

Straight sides and corners

Goal: Count the straight sides and vertices of a closed simple polygon.

Use closed simple polygons. Count vertices rather than a decorative dot or the repeated starting point. Returning to point one is an interaction instruction, not a fifth vertex.

Starting point: Trace a triangle slowly once.
A helpful phrase: “Where do these two straight sides meet?”
A common mix-up: Closing a trace does not add a new corner.
Notice the transfer: Transfer the four-corner count to a long rectangle.

Show: New rectangle: start at point 1, visit 2, 3, 4 around the boundary, then return to 1.

Lesson 2

The quadrilateral family

Goal: Identify quadrilaterals and distinguish squares using side equality and right corners.

Use the inclusive definition: a square is a special rectangle. The other quadrilateral is not rejected as a quadrilateral because it slants. “Right” describes an angle, not screen-right.

Starting point: Find four right corners on the long rectangle.
A helpful phrase: “Which properties do these shapes share?”
A common mix-up: A square is also a rectangle and quadrilateral.
Notice the transfer: Use both right corners and equal sides in a new match.

Show: New matching: use both properties for the square, then find the slanted quadrilateral.

Lesson 3

Triangles can turn

Goal: Recognise differently oriented and proportioned triangles by three straight sides and three vertices.

Do not teach that every triangle points upward or has equal sides. The ordering is uniquely specified by visual orientation, not a natural ranking of triangle types.

Starting point: Compare upright and rightward boundaries.
A helpful phrase: “What stayed the same when its direction changed?”
A common mix-up: Unequal sides do not prevent a triangle being a triangle.
Notice the transfer: Recognise a new wide triangle by sides and corners.

Show: Arrange the three triangles as stated: upward, rightward, wide base below.

Lesson 4

Build a whole from pieces

Goal: Compose a square or rectangle from two complementary pieces with a fixed orientation.

The preview shows the actual selected piece geometry. Orientation and named regions are fixed so each closed task has one accepted end state. Free rotation or every possible geometric dissection is not being assessed.

Starting point: Find the diagonal shared by the square halves.
A helpful phrase: “Does every part of the outline get covered once?”
A common mix-up: Two pieces can still leave a gap or overlap.
Notice the transfer: Transfer from triangular square halves to unequal rectangular pieces.

Show: New whole: build the long rectangle using its narrow left piece and wide right piece.

Lesson 5

Match across a fold line

Goal: Complete a simple reflection by matching shape and equal distance across a vertical or horizontal line.

Reflection changes sides relative to the stated axis. The fixed positions are equally spaced geometrically; colour is not the only cue. No actual folding or camera proof is required.

Starting point: Locate the vertical line before matching.
A helpful phrase: “Where would this shape land if we folded here?”
A common mix-up: The same shape at the wrong side or distance is insufficient.
Notice the transfer: Change the fold from vertical to horizontal.

Show: New fold direction: complete the bottom of the horizontal reflection.

Lesson 6

Cover with no gaps

Goal: Recognise and construct a bounded rectangular covering with no gaps or overlapping interiors.

This is a bounded covering task, not a claim that every polygon tessellates an infinite plane. Shared edges are allowed; overlapping interiors are not. The preview preserves the unit-grid geometry.

Starting point: Count three squares in each of two rows.
A helpful phrase: “Is any space uncovered or covered twice?”
A common mix-up: Correct tile count alone does not guarantee a covering.
Notice the transfer: Move from a three-unit-wide to four-unit-wide boundary.

Show: New wider boundary: fit the left column and the wider complete right block.

Lesson 7

Plane shapes and solid models

Goal: Distinguish a plane shape from a drawing representing a three-dimensional solid.

Every on-screen drawing is flat. The task distinguishes the represented concepts, not physical thickness of pixels or paper. A cube face may be a square without making the cube itself a square.

Starting point: Name the cube as the solid represented by the picture.
A helpful phrase: “What does this drawing stand for?”
A common mix-up: A flat picture of a sphere is still a model of a solid.
Notice the transfer: Match a new plane triangle and a sphere representation.

Show: New matching: triangle as a plane shape, sphere model as a solid representation.

Lesson 8

Directions on a fixed board

Goal: Follow a stated sequence of orthogonal one-cell moves using directions fixed to the screen.

Directions are fixed to the screen, not to the character. The solver checks the full ordered route, including start and each intermediate cell. This is not a real-world navigation or body-laterality assessment.

Starting point: Name the upper-left start in the fixed grid.
A helpful phrase: “Which neighbouring square does this next arrow name?”
A common mix-up: The correct endpoint alone does not establish the correct route.
Notice the transfer: Use three moves from a different starting corner.

Show: New start lower right. Follow left, up, left, in that order.

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