Right, acute, obtuse and reflex angles. These are the types of angles maths that will make an appearance in your child’s homework. But what are types of angles maths all about? The most popular and easiest angle to spot is the right angle and that is usually because students are looking out for the ‘little square’ as a clue. If it was only right angles popping up in maths then it would be easy! Unfortunately, there are a couple of other angles that materialise during maths class! Let’s unbox the angles that your child needs to know in primary school.
Angles will show up during your child’s transfer test practice and revision. So how about a special treat to help your child with their transfer test journey? Use this FREE SEAG-style practice paper and teaching guide to kickstart your child’s learning! This paper comes with a step-by-step teaching guide which will make life easier for you, parents! If you would like some extra info on the transfer test, check out my blog post here!
What are the different types of angles maths?
Angles are everywhere in our daily lives; we just don’t notice them or think about them. When the wheels are turning on our cars, the hands are moving around the clock and when we do that 360 spins on the dancefloor! You’ve guessed it, all angles! In school, however, you won’t get through maths lessons by doing a couple of spins at the front of the classroom. So what are the angles that your child will be dealing with in school?
The definition of types of angles in maths is the space between two lines that start at the same point. Angles are measured in degrees which tell us how much space is between the two lines. The symbol for degrees is ° and this appears after the numbers. For example, 95°. There are six types of angles that your child will be working with throughout primary school. Let’s discuss them one by one.
Types of Angles Maths: Acute Angles
Acute angles are the smallest of all the angles that your child will learn about. Acute angles are angles that are less than 90°. This is any number from 0 to 89. To help my students remember acute angles, I tell them that the clue is in the name! Acute, the angles are nice, small and cute!
Types of Angles Maths: Right Angles
This is the angle that most students find the easiest to spot! A right angle can be identified on shapes by a small square in the corner showing where the right angle is. There are exactly 90° in a right angle. Both lines in a right angle, make an L shape. If your child is struggling with right angles, ask them to make an L shape with their finger and thumb to see if this helps them find it!
Types of Angles Maths: Obtuse Angles
Next on the list of angles is obtuse angles. Obtuse angles measure from above 90° to below 180°. This means all of the numbers between 91 and 179. If your child is struggling to recognise if an angle is obtuse or not, they can use their ruler or finger to create a right angle. If the line goes over the ruler, then it is an obtuse angle because it is bigger than 90°.
Types of Angles Maths: Reflex Angles
Reflex angles are the second largest angles. They are bigger than 180° and less than 360°. This is all of the numbers from 180 to 359. Wow, those are big angles! When looking at a reflex angle, a clue to tell that it is reflex is if the angle is bigger than half of a circle.
Types of Angles Maths: Complete Angles
The name of this angle says it all! A complete angle is a complete turn or a circle shape. A complete angle is 360° exactly! You can recognise these angles by drawing a circle shape around them.
Types of Angles Maths: Straight Line
Angles in a straight line are exactly 180°. They are easy to spot because the two lines will meet to create a long straight line. A straight line angle is also half of a complete angle!
All types of angles in maths activities to develop your child’s understanding of angles
If your child has been getting all jumbled up with different angles, don’t panic! There are lots of fun, interactive ways that you can help your child grasp this topic. Sometimes you need to take a step back from the types of angles in maths worksheets and get moving and having fun with maths!
Games
There are games and interactive activities out there for nearly every maths topic, even angles! One of my favourites is Artistic Angles which is an interactive video to teach angles. Angles Alien Attack is a great game for introducing and reading a protractor. Angle Match Up, Angle Sorting, Angles and Angles Quiz are great for testing out your child’s knowledge of angles.
As well as online games, there are great printable games out there that you can print out or make yourself at home. The Angles Connect Four game is perfect to play as a family or angle charades where your child can make angles with their body and the other players have to guess which angle it is.
Angle Scavenger Hunt
Angles are everywhere in our daily lives so why not go on an angle scavenger hunt to try and spot them? You can complete this in your own home or outdoors! You can download a free angle scavenger hunt sheet here. Take this out to the park and see what angles you and your child can spot! When your child gets an angle question in school, they will be able to think about that memory of finding angles in the park! Linking a difficult concept to a fun, memorable experience can do wonders for your child’s learning.
Angle Yoga
I must say, I started practising yoga about six months ago. For the first five months, I hated it because I was terrible at it. But I kept on going back and trying my best and now I love it! I never really thought about the shapes that my body makes in yoga but when I saw these angle yoga cards on Pinterest, I was like wow! My body can make all the angles I teach about!
When I saw this activity, I just thought that I was amazing. What could be a more memorable maths lesson than trying angle yoga with your mum or dad? Grab a couple of yoga mats and stretch into those different angles! Once you have had a bit of practice, you can turn your angle yoga into a game, where each player takes turns to guess the angle! Yoga is great for the mind, body and soul, so even if you can’t make the different angles with your body, you can still have a good giggle with your kids.
Explore Protractors and Compasses
Teachers may introduce protractors and compasses to explore types of angles in Year 7. When I think back to my days of using a compass, all I can think of is the boys in my class trying to jab the girls with the pointy bit of it! Before completing a formal lesson with protractors and compasses, it’s important to let your child have fun with them and explore them. Let them use the compass to draw different-sized circles and colour them in, make patterns and draw semi-circles using the protractor.
Once your child has had fun exploring these tools, you can explain to them what we use them for. Insert cricket sound here…I don’t know about you but I had no clue what they were used for until one of my students asked if we could practise using them!
Types of Angles Definition Maths: What is a protractor used for?
A protractor is a tool that is a semi-circle shape. It is used for measuring existing angles and it can help you draw out angles. For example, if you were asked to draw a 63° angle, you would use the protractor to measure 63° and then rule in the two lines to join up the angle.
Types of Angles Definition Maths: What is a compass used for?
A compass is a tool that has two legs, one with a slot for your pencil and the other has a pointy, sharp end. These are used for drawing circles and drawing arcs. Using a compass will help you to draw a perfect circle.
What will your child’s types of angles in maths pdf homework look like?
Your child’s angle homework will have a series of different tasks that they will need to complete. They can be asked to identify which type of angles are shown and find the missing angles in triangles or quadrilaterals. This is an example of types of angles exam question which can appear in the transfer test as well. If your child is struggling with angles during homework time, you can make your own Angle Eater which will help them to identify the different types of angles. Repetition is key with the angles topic, if your child goes over the angle facts numerous times, they will eventually remember the difference between each one. A great way to help your child learn these facts is to make some types of angles notes cards, posters or a types of angles maths chart which they can use when they get confused.
Psst…keep reading for some extra info
Here are some extra facts that your child will need to know when finding missing angles in different shapes. Your child will need to know:
- How many degrees are in a triangle
- How many degrees are in a quadrilateral
- The names of the different types of triangles
- The differences between each triangle and the angles
Lucky for you, I’ve made you a handy, wee graphic that you can save and look back on any time you need to!
More Information on Types of Angles Maths
Angles – Types and definition – Mathematics for kids
What are the types of triangle?
How to Find the Angle of a Triangle
I hope this blog post has helped you to look at your child’s homework from a new angle…Did you see what I did there? Angles? Oh my, I laughed too hard at my own joke there! Use this blog post to help guide you through your child’s angles homework or transfer test revision. Don’t forget to sign up here for your free SEAG-style practice paper! Reach out and connect with me on social media via Instagram or Facebook if you have any more types of angles maths questions!
