Wildflowers Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 I just looked up the word 'oblong' and can't avoid any longer what someone pointed out to me a while ago and I ignored - that squares are rectangles and what I teach children being rectangles are oblongs! What to do?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panders Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 I just give them both names I.e, some people also call them oblongs, I think oblong is the better word, that's what I was taught at school many, many years ago and it's so helpful for the children to be able to distinguish properly between like sounding triangle/rectangle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louby loo Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 We had a discussion about this at work the other day, I shall be following this tread with interest! It was me who said about rectangles being squares, and every poo-pooed me............. so I did what I seem to do a lot lately and though 'blow it, why worry' and went back to what I was doing - I think maybe I need a change of job now as I seem to be losing the will to fight anymore :mellow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 I agree with Panders! Oblong went out of fashion and we were told not to use it but I thought it was more acceptable again now. There are a lot of inaccuracies about shape that we teach, unfortunately. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 It should be oblong, but as others have said, it went sort of out of fashion, despite being mathematically correct. Rectangle is a more generic term, like flower or bird, and includes both squares and oblongs. So, if a child calls that shape a rectangle, it isn't wrong, but I would go further and say its a special rectangle, called an oblong. (drawing attention to the 'long' in oblong) If you liken it to the flower, a child says that's a flower, you might go on and tell them its a rose or a daffodil. So calling it a flower isnt wrong. The problem comes when a child calls a square a rectangle and we correct them. But a square is a rectangle, again its a special type of rectangle. That would equate to telling the child that the daffodil isnt a flower. I am passionate about teaching correct mathematical vocabulary because if we don't it causes so many problems and misconceptions in maths later on. If you've ever tried to teach year 4 that a square is indeed a type of rectangle, its no wonder children get confused after years of being told no it isnt. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 I have always used rectangle as the general term for squares and oblongs, 'this rectangle us called a square'. This teaches children that there are clusters of shapes in the same way that triangles can all look very different, but they are still triangles. I don't use ovoid for egg shapes and ovals though ~ Perhaps I should! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 I teach 'oblong' and have found that children enjoy learning this new word and because it's good sounding word and they like how it feels when you say it, they have remembered this shape above all the others! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacquieL Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 We had a discussion about this at work the other day, I shall be following this tread with interest! It was me who said about rectangles being squares, and every poo-pooed me............. so I did what I seem to do a lot lately and though 'blow it, why worry' and went back to what I was doing - I think maybe I need a change of job now as I seem to be losing the will to fight anymore :mellow: A rectangle is a quadrilateral with four right angles so you are absolutely correct. You can go back and tell the staff that ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green hippo Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Just to put the cat amongst the pigeons further - whatever we call it 'rectangle' or 'oblong' - we then go and pick up a 'flat' shape to demonstrate what we mean...but these are in-fact 3D! Sorry... couldn't resist! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildflowers Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 Isn't a 3D square a cube and a 3D oblong a cuboid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green hippo Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Anything you can pick up is 3D, so when we are teaching shape we should really use a projected image or a drawing. What we do use are very flat cuboids! Just being pedantic, sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildflowers Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 A 3D is an object and a cut out shape, even if a piece of paper, is an object - didn't think of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louby loo Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Anything you can pick up is 3D, so when we are teaching shape we should really use a projected image or a drawing. What we do use are very flat cuboids! Just being pedantic, sorry! Might mention that one too now! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacquieL Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 and to be even more pedantic all you need to do is to say that the 'face' of this shape is a rectangle, or whatever it is, and of course the sides of the shape will be a rectangles as well as well ;-) I can only think of a sphere and a triangular pyramid which don't have any rectangular sides, but I expect there are others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Froglet Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Having only discovered a few years ago that oblongs were a subset of rectangles I try to remember to use the term with my children but it's a hard habit to break (having just remembered the shape work I did with my year ones where I didn't mention it once. ) I sometimes worry about my subject knowledge - how do I know I don't know something or that I know it incorrectly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildflowers Posted November 18, 2013 Author Share Posted November 18, 2013 I can only think of a sphere and a triangular pyramid which don't have any rectangular sides, but I expect there are others. Cone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 (edited) we don't use the word oblong but square and rectangle its a word not worth worrying about its not wrong but I love the word tessilate Edited November 18, 2013 by Suer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildflowers Posted November 18, 2013 Author Share Posted November 18, 2013 we don't use the word oblong but square and rectangle its a word not worth worrying about its not wrong But it is wrong to say to children that they are wrong when calling a square a rectangle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacquieL Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Cone Of course a more obvious one is a cylinder, and an oblong is a shape which is longer in one direction so could be applied to oval shapes. Keep it simple would be my advice ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildflowers Posted November 18, 2013 Author Share Posted November 18, 2013 Thanks Jacquie for making me aware that an oblong can be a rectangle or an ellipse. An oblong is an elongated square or circle. Children naming shapes can't be told that they are incorrect when they call the square a rectangle. Any suggestion how to keep it simple and correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 I never tell a child they are wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 (edited) The difference between an oblong and a rectangle is that an oblong is a rectangle whose sides are of different lengths. A rectangle on the other hand is a four sided polygon that has four right angle corners. You of course wild flowers must tell you children whatever you feel comfortable with using Edited November 19, 2013 by Suer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildflowers Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 (edited) I also don't tell a child that they are wrong, but have up to now said, when a child has called a square a rectangle, e.g. "hmm... a rectangle has two long sides and two short..." encouraging them to think further. This discussion has helped me become aware of my ignorance ~ thanks! We have now decided not to bring oblongs in the mix and instead say, "yes it is a kind of a rectangle called square because..." Edited November 20, 2013 by Wildflowers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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