Rectangular Box

How the Rectangular Box is presented

This activity encourages the child to form different shapes from different triangles in the box. The Rectangular Box is a wooden box in the shape of a rectangle.The box consists of a pair of grey scalene-right-angled triangles, a pair of yellow equilateral triangles, a pair of yellow isosceles right-angled triangles, a pair of green scalene right-angled triangles, a pair of yellow scalene right-angled triangles, a pair of green isosceles right-angled triangles, one red scalene obtuse-angled triangle and one smaller red scalene right-angled triangle. All of the triangles have a black line for children to trace and match the same colour triangles.

The children trace along the black lines of the same coloured triangles and form a different shape. The directress shows the child first, by bringing forward one set of triangles forward (e.g the red triangles), she takes her time and begins to trace along the black lines of the triangles with her right index and middle fingers, she then slides the triangles together. The directress continues in the same manner until all of the same coloured triangles have been matched together and new shapes have been formed.

What does the child learn by doing this presentation?

This activity refines the child’s judgment, it helps the child to become more patient and have a better level of concentration, this activity prepares the child for geometry he will learn later on, as well as the new discovery of all of the different quadrilaterals that can be formed from triangles.

Looking for more Montessori activities?

Here is the full list of the Montessori tasks, including Visual and Muscle Discrimination Sense activities, Tactile Sense activities, Chromatic Sense activities, Auditory Sense activities, Thermic Sense activities, Gustatory Sense activities, Baric Sense activities, Olfactory Sense activities, Stereognostic Sense activities, Geometry activities, and Algebra activities. Just click on the activity you want to learn about to go there.