Fun with Shapes Class 3 Maths Chapter 5 CBSE Notes 2025-26

Shapes are everywhere in our daily lives, whether we see them in patterns, objects, or drawings. In Chapter 5: Fun with Shapes of Class 3 Maths, students explore the lovely world of shapes by observing, tracing, folding, and building. This chapter helps students recognize shapes like rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles, and learn about their properties in a hands-on, playful way.

Introduction to Shapes

At the start of the chapter, students are encouraged to observe and create rangoli patterns using dots and different shapes. They are invited to name the shapes they see and differentiate between those made using curved lines and those made with straight lines. By using cutouts, children design their own rangoli and get to outline and colour the shapes to see the art in geometry.

Exploring Real-Life Shapes

Students are guided to open up cardboard boxes to find out what shapes they see when the boxes are flattened. Activities like making an envelope from a square sheet of paper teach about transformation of shapes through folding. Teachers are encouraged to let students create cylinders, cones, cubes, and cuboids using paper nets, which helps them visualize three-dimensional objects in two-dimensional form.

Rectangles and Squares

By drawing outlines of everyday objects like matchboxes and wooden boxes, children discover rectangular and square shapes. They are asked to name three objects that have rectangular faces, such as books, erasers, or boxes. There is a special focus on understanding that the faces of cuboids (like erasers and sharpeners) are either rectangles or squares, never triangles. The activities also include constructing rectangles with sticks and drawing rectangles of various sizes around a small one using a dot grid.

• A rectangle has 4 sides and 4 corners.
• The opposite sides of a rectangle are always equal in length.
• A square is a special rectangle in which all sides are equal in length and all corners are the same.
• Squares and rectangles have "square corners."

Children are also encouraged to build a square using four sticks and observe the right angles. This intuitive, hands-on approach deepens their understanding of the properties of squares and rectangles.

Making and Observing Shapes

Activities such as making larger squares around a given square, using matchsticks to form multiple squares, and combining square cutouts to create new shapes are included. These develop creativity and spatial sense. Students are challenged to identify which shapes formed by these activities are rectangles or not, and to reason why some shapes do not fit the definition.

• Folding a square does not change the number of its corners.
• Cutting a square along dotted lines can produce triangles, which can be rearranged to form new shapes.

Working with Corners

The chapter puts special attention on "square corners." Children compare corners of tables, books, and other classroom objects to see if they have right angles like those of squares and rectangles. Paper strips are used to demonstrate corners that are “less than,” “equal to,” or “more than” a square corner. Activities also include using matchsticks to create different types of corners, observing which shapes have only square corners, and connecting dots to form various types of corners.

Triangles: Discovering Three-Sided Shapes

Triangles are introduced by drawing, folding, or using matchsticks. Children are asked to find triangles in rangoli patterns, count them, and even make new triangles by connecting dots on a circle. The concept of sides and corners is established:

• A triangle has 3 sides and 3 corners.
• All triangles have straight sides, but can have different shapes.

Students try turning one triangle into two by changing the arrangement of matchsticks and explore making triangles of various types by folding and cutting paper. They learn to identify objects around them with triangular faces.

Circles: Patterns and Properties

Circles are explored through games, activities, and tracing household objects like bottle caps and bangles. The main features of a circle are identified: it has no corners or straight sides. Children discover that the distance from the center to the edge is always the same anywhere around the circle. The idea of the "center of the circle" is made clear by folding a paper plate and noting where the lines cross. Children compare circles to rectangles to identify similarities and differences, such as the absence of corners in circles.

Comparing Different Shapes

Children are encouraged to pick any two shapes, like squares and triangles, and discuss their properties with friends. This helps in understanding both similarities and differences between shapes — for instance, both squares and triangles have straight edges, but the number of sides and corners differs. Children look at different figures and play "odd one out" games to sharpen observational skills.

Solving Shape Puzzles and Patterns

The chapter features several puzzles where children must find the largest rectangle among a group, count how many squares or triangles exist within a shape, and split a larger shape into smaller ones using lines. Students also encounter tangrams, which are puzzles made from cut pieces of a square, and are challenged to create various shapes using the tangram pieces. Line and border patterns using straight and curved lines appear as creative tasks at the end.

Key Points to Remember

• Shapes like rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles each have their own unique properties.
• Rectangles and squares have “square corners” and straight edges.
• Triangles always have 3 sides and 3 corners, and can vary in shape.
• Circles have no corners and all points on the circle are the same distance from its center.
• Shapes may be recognized, traced, folded, cut, or built in numerous ways to explore their structure.
• Comparing and creating with different shapes makes maths fun and helps in real-life observation skills.

The chapter “Fun with Shapes” uses playful tasks, real-life comparison, and creative puzzles to help students not just recognize shapes, but also understand their properties and use them to create new patterns and designs. It builds a foundation for geometry by blending visual, tactile, and logical experiences.

Class 3 Maths Chapter 5 Notes – Fun with Shapes: Key Points for Quick Revision

These CBSE Class 3 Maths Chapter 5 notes explain all key concepts of shapes through clear explanations and hands-on activities. You'll revise rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles, and learn their unique properties in a simple way. Mastering these shapes will boost your confidence for quick exams revision and classroom discussions.

With easy examples and exercises, these notes help you remember the differences and similarities among shapes for Class 3 Maths exams. Find out how to identify shapes in everyday objects and solve fun puzzles, helping you build a solid base in geometry. Use this summary to quickly revise before tests or whenever you need a refresher!