Using the correct materials and manipulatives appropriately allows the richness of geometrical concepts to be fully investigated to enable students to explore and reason about shapes. This article explores some of the key ideas involved in learning about two dimensional shapes and discusses how materials can be used to support learning.

The importance of mathematical reasoning is unquestioned and providing opportunities for students to become involved in mathematical reasoning is paramount. The open-ended tasks presented incorporate mathematical content explored through the contexts of problem solving and reasoning. This article presents a number of simple tasks that may be…