Mini Minds Hub · Free printable
The Folding Files: Free Printable Worksheet for Year 6
- ForYear 6
- StageKey Stage 2
- CostFree
- FormatPrintable PDF
The Folding Files is a free printable maths worksheet for Year 6 (ages 10 to 11), in Key Stage 2. Children read a set of net files, decide which can fold into a solid, and record faces, edges and vertices in a table. Only a cube, square based pyramid or triangular prism counts, and all edges must match. Page 2 gives the grown up notes, help ideas, a stretch task and the answers.
It comes from the Mini Minds Hub, the free library of printables from Jaques of London, the British games and toy company that has been making games for families since 1795. Print both pages, give page 1 to your child and keep page 2 for yourself. Black and white printing works well.
What is on the sheet
Children meet a set of files, each one a flat pattern of squares, rectangles or triangles. They read each description, sketch it if needed and decide whether it could fold into one of the three allowed solids. There are cards to cut out, a table for faces, edges, vertices and real nets, and lines for writing their reasons. Finally, they build one net to test their thinking.
- File B: 1 square with a triangle joined to each of its 4 sides.
- File F: 1 square with a triangle joined to just 3 of its sides.
- File H: 5 squares in a row. 1 square above the 2nd.
- File K: 3 rectangles in a row. A single triangle above the middle one.
- File L: 5 triangles in a fan, all joined at one point.
- Shape
- Faces
- Edges
- Vertices
- Real nets
Build a net to test your thinking
Choose and sketch
Pick one file you think is a real net. Sketch it on squared paper, one square for each unit of length, so the pieces sit neatly side by side.
Keep the edges true
Use the squares to keep edges that must meet the same length. If two edges will be joined when you fold, count the squares along each one and check they match.
Cut and fold
Cut around the whole net with scissors. Fold gently along each line before you stick anything down, and see how the pieces meet.
Test and decide
Tape the edges together. Look for gaps and overlaps. Did the net do what you predicted? Write one sentence on the sheet to explain.
What is a net?
A net is a flat pattern that folds up to make a solid shape. Think of a cardboard box before it is put together. Each flat piece in the net becomes a face of the solid. Where two pieces fold together, they make an edge. The corners where edges meet are called vertices. To check a net, children picture the folding in their head, or they fold a real one.
Not every group of joined shapes folds into a solid. Pieces can overlap, leave a gap, or have sides of different lengths that cannot meet. This sheet asks children to look for those problems before they decide. In Year 6, children recognise, describe and build simple 3D shapes, including making nets, so the sheet gives practice with a reason to explain their choices.
Fun facts about nets
- Many cartons and boxes start as a flat printed sheet that is cut and folded.
- The word vertices is the plural of vertex. A vertex is a corner of a solid.
- A solid can often have more than one net, so there is not only one right way to unfold it.
- A net lets you see every face of a solid at once, laid out flat.
- Builders and designers sketch flat patterns before they make a 3D object.
Skills and curriculum link
- Visualising nets
- Counting faces, edges and vertices
- Spotting fake nets
- Reasoning and explaining
- Using 3D shape vocabulary
Ideas that help with nets
- FacesA face is a flat surface of a solid. In a net, each separate piece is one face.
- EdgesAn edge is where two faces meet. When a net folds, some sides of the pieces join to make one edge.
- VerticesA vertex is a corner where edges meet. Count corners on the solid, not on the flat net.
- Matching edgesWhen you fold a net, the sides that come together must be the same length, or they will not meet.
Key words
- NetA flat pattern that folds up to make a 3D shape.
- FaceA flat surface of a solid shape.
- EdgeThe line where two faces meet.
- VertexA corner where edges meet. More than one are called vertices.
- PrismA solid that has the same shape all the way along its length.
- PyramidA solid with a base and sloping faces that meet at one point.
How to use it
- Print both pages. Page 1 is for your child. Keep page 2, which has the notes and answers.
- Read the first file aloud. Ask your child to picture it folding before they decide anything.
- Let them sketch each file or cut out the cards and move them about. Then they fill in the table.
- Build one real net together. Fold it and check if the prediction was right.
- Check with page 2 and ask, "How do you know?" Come back another day to repeat the tricky files.
Help, stretch and game ideas
If it feels too hard
Lay out squared paper and paper squares or counters so each file can be built and folded. Start with one file only. Fold it and see what happens. Touch each face, edge and corner as you count, and say the number aloud.
To stretch confident children
Draw a different real net for each of the three shapes. Explain how you know each one will fold without overlapping. Then try to find a second net for one shape, and say how it is different from the first.
Make it a game
Play detective pairs. One player describes a net aloud, using only words. The other sketches it and says REAL or FAKE with a reason. Swap roles after each turn. Score a point for every reason that is clear and correct.
Mistakes to watch for
Watch forA child decides a net is real because the pieces are joined, without checking how it folds.
Try thisAsk them to fold it in their head, or on paper. Look for overlaps, gaps and sides that do not meet.
Watch forA child counts every line on the flat net as an edge of the solid.
Try thisFold the net. Some sides join to become a single edge. Count the edges on the folded solid instead.
Watch forA child counts corners on the flat net and gets the wrong number of vertices.
Try thisHold the folded solid and touch each corner once. Several corners on the net can come together as one vertex.
Talk about it
- Which file did you decide first, and why?
- How can you tell a net will overlap when it folds?
- What does it mean when two edges match?
- Is there a way to check without folding the paper?
- Which shape was hardest to picture? What helped you?
- Could one shape have a different net? How would you find out?
Take it off the page
Cereal box detective
Take an empty cereal box and carefully open it flat along its glued seams. Look at the pieces and name the solid. Then fold it back and count faces, edges and vertices.
Squared paper nets
Draw your own nets on squared paper. Cut them out and fold them. Sort them into a pile that works and a pile that does not.
Build with modelling clay
Make a solid from clay or marshmallows and cocktail sticks with an adult. Use the sticks as edges and the joins as vertices.
Who it is for
Parents
Sit beside your child for the first file, then let them lead. Ask them to explain each choice. If they get stuck, give them squared paper and let them fold a real net.
Teachers
Use it as a starter, a plenary or an early finisher task alongside work on 3D shapes. It supports the Year 6 geometry strand on properties of shapes, including nets. The cut out cards suit table work in pairs.
Home educators
Print it as part of a wider maths plan. It pairs well with building models, looking at packaging and sketching shapes outdoors. Print again for brothers and sisters, or for revision a few weeks later.
Where this fits in maths
Before this, children name 2D and 3D shapes and describe them using faces, edges and vertices. They also learn to look at a shape from different directions, which helps them picture folding.
After this, children can explore nets of other solids and draw them accurately. These skills also lead towards surface area and volume, where understanding how a solid is built from flat pieces is useful.
Questions parents and teachers ask
- What age is The Folding Files for?
It is written for Year 6 (ages 10 to 11), in Key Stage 2. Younger children can try it with an adult, and older children can use the stretch idea on page 2.
- What will children practise?
Children practise recognising nets of 3D shapes and recording faces, edges and vertices. They also spot fake nets and explain why a net would or would not fold into one of the three allowed shapes.
- Is it free?
Yes. It is free to print for home and classroom use. You can print it again for brothers and sisters, or for revision later on.
- Is this a screen free activity?
Yes. It needs only paper and a pencil, and scissors and tape for the building part. It works well for quiet time, rainy days and school holidays.
- What if it feels too hard?
Offer squared paper and counters or paper squares so children can lay out each file and fold it. Start with one file and talk it through. Page 2 has more help ideas.
- Can teachers use it in class?
Yes. Teachers can use it as a starter, plenary, early finisher task, homework or table activity. It needs no preparation beyond printing and cutting out the cards.
- Can I use it for home education?
Yes. Home educators and tutors can use it alone or as part of a wider maths plan. It pairs well with building models and looking at packaging around the home.
Preview the full PDF
Made by Jaques of London, making games for families since 1795. A printable supports classroom learning and does not replace a teacher.