Quadrilateral Dichotomous Map

Students will build fundamental understanding of quadrilaterals while defining and identifying them using a dichotomous map diagram. The dichotomous map diagram utilizes dichotomous key principles by asking yes/no questions for students to answer as they identify all the possible names for 12 different quadrilaterals. This activity will lead to discussions such as: Why are all squares rectangles but not all rectangles squares? Such discussions will lead to understanding of the attributes of various quadrilaterals.

Common Core State Standards

4th grade: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.G.A.2 – Classify two dimensional figures based on the presence of parallel or perpendicular lines, or the presence or absence of angles of a specified size.

5th grade: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.G.B.3 – Understand that attributes belonging to a category of two dimensional figures also belong to all subcategories of that category. For example, all rectangles have four right angles and squares are rectangles, so all squares have four right angles.

Virginia Standards of Learning 2016

VA SOL 4.12 The student will classify quadrilaterals as parallelograms, rectangles, squares, rhombi, and/or trapezoids.