Invitation to Explore - Line of Symmetry

Symmetry for Kindergarten: Use hands-on activities to engage students in learning about lines of symmetry. Use a variety of materials to practice symmetry for kindergarten students.

To get my students to understand a line of symmetry, I used a lot of hands-on materials and provocations. I put together some ideas that you can incorporate into your classroom:

butterfly match

We used butterflies as a jumping off point for looking at lines of symmetry. We began by using this butterfly matching game to reinforce the concept that butterflies wings are symmetrical.

This was easy to make- I found a bunch of pictures online of butterflies, printed them, and cut them in half. I glued one half of the butterfly onto a piece of bristle board (I also included the name of the butterfly), and the other piece I laminated (along with the bristle board once all the butterfly halves were glued on). Then I stuck on Velcro circles for easy matching.

You can see more about this activity in Kindergarten Line of Symmetry Activities.

loose parts

I put a stick in the middle of a cork board that I use with my loose parts, and let the students make their own symmetrical images (these two decided to make butterflies with the shape buttons and sticks)

Pattern Blocks

I put a piece of masking tape on the table and a bin of pattern blocks. I was really impressed with all the designs that they came up with.

You can see another set-up that I did with this concept in this blog post.

light table

I laid out two different kinds of gems and some sticks. The students were excited to use these materials in a different way, and used them to create some symmetrical images.

more symmetry for kindergarten

Looking for an easy way to plan out you symmetry unit? Take a look at my Easy Print and Prep Symmetry math pack. It has a variety of activities that use hands-on materials.