Here’s a resource that makes practising flips, slides and turns lots of fun!

There are three mystery pictures to choose from. Students transform the (seemingly) random shapes on the grid and thus create a picture, similar to a tangram. The grid makes it easy for students to see the transformations.

Hints About the Reflections, Translations and Rotations

• A dotted line indicates the direction in which students need to flip a shape. Students could be encouraged to think about placing an imaginary mirror on this line.
• A pivotal point is specified on all shapes that require turning. The turns are all ¼ turns.
• While some of the slides move up to 6 squares on the grid, all other moves on the grids are one-step.

How Do Students Use the Resource?

Students should draw the shapes in their new positions lightly in lead pencil first. Once they know they have transformed the shape correctly, students then go over the shapes with felt pens/brightly coloured pencils. This will make the picture stand out. Using a ruler to draw the lines will also assist in achieving an accurate result on the grid.

Differentiation? We’ve Got That Covered!

Each of the three mystery pictures is progressively more difficult to complete.

While some students will feel confident drawing the shapes in their new positions as described above, other students will benefit from being able to physically manipulate the shapes before drawing them. For this reason, a ‘Cut Out’ page has been included.

If you wish to provide more scaffolding for this task, give students a copy of the ‘Cut Out’ page in addition to the master page. Students cut out ONE shape, then flip, slide or turn it as indicated. They then trace around the shape and colour it in its new position. Remind them to only cut out one shape at a time to avoid confusion!

If you’re wanting larger shapes to cut, the grids could be printed on A3 paper.

We have other resources related to flips, slides and turns that you may be interested in. Try one of these:

teaching resource

Flip, Slide and Turn Worksheet

A worksheet to give students practice at flips, slides and turns.

teaching resource

Flip, Slide and Turn PowerPoint

An animated teaching presentation that explores flips, slides and turns.