Hold up a real dice (or a cube) and run your own finger over a flat side, then along a line where two sides meet, then onto a corner. Take two or three hands-up answers pointing at each part before naming anything.

• Cube — count the six faces, twelve edges, eight corners aloud with the class, tapping each part on the board and on a real dice held up at the same time.
• Cuboid — pause on why it has the same counts as the cube: the faces are rectangles instead of squares, but there are still six of them.
• Cylinder — hold out for the class to spot there are no corners; point to the curved face going all the way round.
• Cone — the single corner at the point is the surprise; ask before revealing it.

Talk this one through together — pupils take turns at the board, the class agrees or corrects out loud, and no marking yet.

Rotate a pupil for each solid. As one pupil taps to tally on the board, the group's real solid is passed round for the others to check against. Between solids, keep the watching class working: ask the room to predict the next count before the board pupil taps, take two hands-up answers, and revoice a strong one. Listen for pupils double-counting an edge or missing the hidden back faces — have them turn the solid right round before deciding they are finished.

This is the practice round — pupils take turns at the board, the class agrees each answer aloud, and the board pupil presses Check before moving on. Keep the board work brisk rather than over-explaining.

The cone corner is the make-or-break: it has only one, at the point. When the class reaches it, ask them to explain why a cone has a corner but a cylinder does not before the answer is checked.